The Hufflepuffs: Changing Worlds
by K. Wiseheart
Summary: Amber McKinnon had a problem. She got bored, a lot. Then on one Friday afternoon a single letter changed her life forever. The Hufflepuffs, is an Original 'Slice of Life' Story set in the early 2000's, after the Battle of Hogwarts. This story is about three young students and explores their experiences as they start their magical journey in a rapidly changing world.
1. Chapter 1: Secrets about Me

**Chapter 1: Secrets about Me**

Amber McKinnon leaned against the sill of her open bedroom window, looking out to the sea wishing for something extraordinary to liven up her boring life.  
Even though it was summer a cool Nova Scotian breeze blew softly against her rosy cheeks, and although she delighted in the wind's touch she loathed summer as it made the days longer.

To Amber longer days meant more time in which she had to waste away her boredom, and since her 11th birthday was last week there was nothing left to really look forward to. Christmas was still 5 months away and she'd have to get through another term of school first before she could enjoy that.

Sighing, Amber gathered her thoughts and decided that the best way to entertain herself was to find something to eat. Closing her bedroom window slowly as to allow one last gust of wind to blow through her chestnut coloured hair, Amber headed down stairs in search of food.

The only thing that Amber liked about her house was that her room was on the 2nd story giving her a beautiful view of the sea. Aside from that everything else was boring, no ornate furniture to sit comfortably in, and no colourful pictures to brighten up the walls but most importantly of all was the annoying creek that half the floorboards in the house made when stepped on.

"Hi Mum." Amber said to herself when she passed by her Mother's picture, before opening the fridge and pantry simultaneously to spy the contents within.

As expected both the fridge and pantry both held nothing within that an eleven year old would deem worthy of eating. The leftover cake was missing which likely meant her Dad took the last of it with him to work, and all that really remained that _looked_ edible was an apple or carrot.

"Fine, I'll go to the milk bar." Amber said to no one in particular. She picked up her bag and headed out the front door being sure to lock it behind her. She then grabbed her bike and set off.

The ride to the milk bar took all of 10 minutes and although she was still bored at least it was something different, plus she was really looking forward to getting some skittles and sour gummy worms. Everything was going well for Amber right up until she walked back out onto the street and saw Jacob with his little gang of miscreants ridding straight towards her. Although Amber was bored, she wasn't bored enough to want to deal with Jacob or anyone else from his pose.

"Well, well, boys if it isn't the little freak Amber." Jacob laughed as soon as he and his friend where within earshot.

"Buzz off Jacob; I'm not in the mood."

"Oooo….The little lezzie is trying to fight back." Jacob laughed hauntingly. Amber groaned and attempted to ignore the boys whilst mounting her bike.

"Awww, is the poor little girl upset that her feelings are hurt, do you want me to go get Hannah so she can come back and kiss it all better for you, I'd bet you'd like that wouldn't you?" Jacob continued whilst making mock crying gestures.

Amber tried to hold herself back but was failing. Ever since they played spin the bottle at Hannah's birthday party all any of the other kids would talk about was how she was madly in love with Hannah. Whilst she to found it amusing for the first day or two, three months later it was no longer a joke. She somewhat regrated going through with it and playing in that silly game.

"Oh look she's actually crying!" One of the boys yelled which just started another round of laughter.

Amber finally managed to get onto her bike and start riding away but the boys just started following her, all the while throwing insult after insult. But like a lot of things when people are pushed too far they find they are capable of things that they otherwise wouldn't be able to do, and Amber was no exception.

Slamming on her breaks, Amber turned on the boys following her and screeched at the top of her lungs.

"LEAVE. ME. ALONE!"

The scream was loud and rang in everyone's ears, including Amber's for a few seconds afterwards. She was turning back around to continue ridding home when she noticed.

All of the boy's bike chains were now completely detached from their wheels and hung loosely from the peddles. Not letting this chance slip by Amber kicked the ground and made her best speed home, whilst the bewildered boys sat dumbstruck trying to figure out what happened to their bikes.

Amber had mostly calmed down when she finally reached home. Dismounting from her bike to walk down the drive way just as her Dad was returning home.

"Hey Gemstone, you okay?" Mr McKinnon asked once her had pulled into his parking spot.

"Yeah… I'm fine, just had a little run in with Jacob and his cronies at the milk bar." In all of the excitement she had completely forgotten about the uneaten lollies sitting in her backpack, but honestly she wasn't feeling all that hungry anymore.

"I hope you aren't blowing all that birthday money on candy." Mr McKinnon joked. "Why don't you grab the mail whilst I go get started on Lunch."

"Okay Dad."

Absently grabbing the letters Amber hardly looked at them until she walked back into the kitchen, dropping them onto the bench.

"So what kind of mail we got? You should be getting a birthday card from Grandpa sometime this week. He'll probably send you pounds again for a bit of a laugh." Mr McKinnon chuckled whilst he put together some sandwiches.

"I don't know, just some junk mail addressed to you…. Wait, maybe this funny looking one is it?"

Amber began to unceremoniously tear through envelope of the mystery letter whilst her Father popped the first couple of sandwiches into the toaster. Amber didn't even check to see if the letter was addressed to her or not, nor did she notice the wax seal on the back. She did however notice that the handwriting was _a lot_ neater than Grandpa Bill's.

"So how much did Grandpa Bill send you?" Mr McKinnon half-mindedly asked. It was clear he was fully engrossed in the sandwiches he was making; he had barely looked at Amber since she had dropped the mail on the bench.

"I don't think this is from Grandpa Bill Dad. It says it's from someplace called Hogwarts? 'Dear Miss McKinnon we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hog…'" Before Amber could read another word her Dad had snatched the letter straight out of her hand, crumpled it and threw I into the shredder. "HEY! What was that for?"

"It was probably just junk mail… nothing worth reading" Mr McKinnon replied and Amber's anger flared in response.

"How did you know it was nothing? I was reading that! It was addressed to me!" She ended the sentence with a surprised squeak as the sandwich toaster at that exact moment shorted out, leaving both father and daughter with slightly burnt sandwiches.

"Now look what you have gone and done!"

"That wasn't my fault!" Amber screamed.

"Don't you raise your voice to me young lady, you know what you.… Never mind!" Mr McKinnon stammered, abruptly ending his sentence.

"How can I break the Toaster without touching it?"

"I said never mind Amber. And lower your voice!"

"NO! That's not fair! You did the wrong thing not me, you threw away my letter. I shouldn't be the one getting in trouble!" When tears started to flow freely down Amber's cheeks she hopped down from the bench and headed off to her room leaving her slightly charred lunch back in the kitchen.

When she finally reached the sanctuary of her room she kicked the door closed and flopped down onto her bed. Hugging her pillow close to her chest Amber realised that she was hungry after all.

Amber didn't come down from her room for the rest of the day, only briefly leaving her room to collect her dinner and to use the bathroom. Her father had the good sense to leave her alone but Amber couldn't tell if that made her happy or not. It was days like this that she really missed her Mum.

The rest of the week saw Amber falling into a strange sleep every time she tried to rest. It was strange because her dreams woke her up throughout the night. She dreamt of a huge house that had paintings that moved and of strangely dressed people that made things fly around. The dreams where so real to her, so clear, almost…. like a memory.

Every day since the argument with her Dad she would go a meet the postman by the mailbox at 12pm sharp hoping to anything that another one of those strange letters would show up. Alas each day would pass and each day there would be no new letter.

Amber would spend most of her days sitting in her room or down by the shore thinking and day-dreaming to herself what this 'Hogwarts' was. Why had she received a letter from this mysterious place and what had she been accepted into? She thought and pondered until she becoming dizzy, then would do it all over again. But not in her wildest dreams could she imagine what was in store for her.

On one late Friday afternoon whilst Amber was quietly sitting on the couch absentmindedly playing video games on her PlayStation, there was a light knock on the door.

"Amber! Can you get the door please I'm just finishing up cooking dinner."

With a grumble Amber obeyed her dad dragged her feet to the door. Upon opening it all Amber could do was stare at the strange lady standing on the front porch. The lady in question looked to be in her mid-thirties and wore dark blue dress adorned with various buttons and pockets, with the top of her boots meeting the hem of dress. In her arms folded neatly was a long black robe with blue trimming that matched her dress. A wide brimmed pointed hat with a rather large red and gold feather sticking out of it sat on the lady's head. Strange but beautiful is how Amber would have described this lady.

"Hello, is this the home of Amber and Gregory McKinnon?" The lady spoke with a clear but educated British accent that slightly resembled the Queen of England.

Amber was struggling to form words in her mouth, but managed to at least slip a few on by. "Um… yes… that's us…. Ah…. Dad! You might want to come to the door!"

"My name is Professor Annabelle Hackleworth , I have been very much looking forward to meeting you again Amber." The lady extended her free hand to shake the girls.

"Errrrrr….. Hi, I guess?" Amber said uncertainly, returning the handshake.

"Who is at the door Amber?" Mr McKinnon came around the corner and took one look at the lady in question before going white as a sheet.

"Mr McKinnon it's a pleasure to meet you again, I'm Profes…" Before Professor Hackleworth could finish her sentence she was cut off by Mr McKinnon.

"No." The word was clear as crystal.

"I'm sorry?"

"She's not going."

"Mr McKinnon please let's not jump ahead of ourselves I only…"

"I said, No!"

"Dad who is this person? What's going on?" Amber finally asked after getting her head around the confusion.

"She's nobody. Why don't you go upstairs until I've finished down here okay Gemstone?"

"NO! This is just the same thing that happened with the letter! Something is going on and you won't tell me what it is!" When Amber finished her sentence Mr McKinnon's car alarm went off causing him to grumble under his breath while he fished his keys out of his pocket. Madly hitting the unlock button on the remote to no success. Professor Hackleworth took this moment to kneel down in front of Amber.

"Amber sweetie, I need to you clam down for me, you're causing this but you can make it stop if you calm down." Professor Hackleworth spoke with a soft voice and after a few short breaths Amber calmed down and the car alarm went off. "Very good Amber, Magic is all about control and your emotions can drive it just as much as your thoughts."

Amber was in a state of shock. She wasn't sure if she heard it right but this Professor Lady just said the word Magic and in reference to her. But there's no such thing as Magic, right? She would have continued this train of thought but just then Professor Hackleworth produced an exact replica of the letter that she handled not 5 days ago.

"I believe this will answer a few of your questions". The Professor said with a nice cheery smile.

"No, NO! Enough of this talk I would like you leave me and my daughter alone." Mr McKinnon growled before trying to grab the letter.

Mr McKinnon couldn't even get a hand to the letter before Professor Hackleworth had stood up and pulled the letter up behind her ear.

"Now Mr McKinnon, I know you are not very fond of our world but your daughter has a right to know who she is and where she comes from. I will not be leaving here until I have told her that much." Professor Hackleworth s tone of voice stayed even throughout her sentence only for her smile to return after she had finished. Amber was amazed that there was someone who could actually silence her Dad. The two adults stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"Fine. It's not like I could stop you anyway." Mr McKinnon relented, moving into the living room to sit down in his reclining chair.

Breezily the Professor walked into the room, took a seat on the coach, whipped her hat off, and draped her belongings over her lap whilst Amber followed close behind after shutting the door.

Amber's mind was still reeling from the past few minutes and was struggling to keep up. Entering the living room Amber took a seat on the opposite side of the coach and looked intently at the women in question.

"As I was saying earlier my dear, my name is Professor Annabelle Hackleworth , however Professor Hackle is perfectly fine. I teach Muggle Studies at Hogwarts."

Amber's Dad gave a loud snort at the word Muggle but otherwise kept his mouth shut.

"What's does the word Muggle mean?" Amber asked curiously.

"A Muggle is person with no magical abilities, like your Dad".

"So what am I?" Amber wondered not realising that she hadn't just thought that thought but said it as well.

"You Amber, are a witch just like your mother."

" _What!?_ I'm a witch? But that doesn't make any sense…. wait; you said my Mum was one too?" This was getting to be a lot for Amber to take in. She stared at the wall whilst her mind tried to play catch up and process all of this. "But I can't be, wouldn't I have had to use Magic or something?"

"Amber, my dear you have used your Magic twice since I have been here and I am willing to bet your father has noticed you use it too." Mr McKinnon uncharacteristically said nothing to any of this and just continued to fidget uncomfortably in his chair.

"The car alarm." Amber whispered.

"Yes and also when we came into this room."

"I didn't do anything when we came in."

"Amber I do not believe the lighting in this house is automated." Professor Hackle spoke with a light laugh. Amber then realised that neither she nor anyone else had touched a light switch and everything was starting to become a bit overwhelming. "Here, I think it's time you read this for yourself."

The very letter that Amber had been so desperate to read was finally being handed to her freely. With shaky hands she took the letter from Professor Hackle and read it. _To Miss Amber McKinnon, 2_ _nd_ _floor - Bedroom at the end, 18 Anglo Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia._

 ** _HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_**

 ** _Headmistress: MINERVA MCGONAGALL (Order of Merlin, First Class, defender of Hogwarts)_**

 ** _Dear Miss McKinnon, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1_** ** _st_** ** _. We await your owl by no later than July 31_** ** _st_** ** _._**

 ** _Yours sincerely,_**

 ** _Fillius Flitwick, Deputy Headmaster_**

The letter did answer a few of Amber's questions however a dozen more quickly replaced them. Her head swam to trying to keep up with the information that was being presented to her. She lost count of the amount of times her month had opened to ask something only for it to close a second latter.

"If you have any more questions I'd be more than happy to answer them." The Professor said snapping Amber out of her reverie.

"How does…. How does my Mum fit into all this?" Amber asked shakily.

Professor Hackle was about to begin answering her question before she was once again cut off by Mr McKinnon.

"Stop." His voice was tired and strained but anger was still evident.

"Mr McKinnon it is important that we…."

"NO!" Mr McKinnon bellowed. It was so loud that even Professor Hackle recoiled in shock. "No… please, not now it's too much. Please leave us be."

The contrast of both sentences was stark. One commanded the room and could be heard from the roof whilst the other was quiet and distant. Professor Hackle moved to protest but something stopped her. The challenging look she had been giving Mr McKinnon since she got here was gone only to be replaced by sincerity.

"Of course Mr _McKinnon_. I apologise if I have offended you. How about I come by tomorrow after you both have had a good night's sleep?"

"What! No please don't go." Amber inserted feeling like everything was about to run away from her again. She was close, she was so close to getting answers and now they are about to slip away.

"I'm sorry Amber but I think it's best if I leave for tonight" Professor Hackle rose gathering her things together.

Amber then got up and grabbed her. "Please don't go miss, PLEASE! I have so many things I need to ask you. You can't leave, not now." Tears were forming in Ambers eyes and the glass in the room started to shake.

"Amber don't cry, I'll be back tomorrow. Besides if you desperately need a question answered you can ask your Dad." Amber was shocked to hear this. How much did he know?

With that Professor Hackle rose quickly and made for the door with Amber begging her not to go.

"AMBER!" Mr McKinnon shouted. "Let the Professor leave in peace."

Amber had only turned around for a second to look at her Dad and by the time she turned back around Professor Hackle was gone.

"She…. She's gone? Where did she go?" Amber said in a panic as she rushed to look out the front door to no avail. She realised she hadn't heard the front door open.

"It's probably for the best."

"What! How could you say that? This is the first time anything in my life made sense and you go and ruin it!" Amber wailed.

"Amber I'm just trying to protect you".

"No! You're preventing me from being myself. You have known for all of these years haven't you? You knew I was a witch."

"Amber.… I.…" Mr McKinnon tried to counter.

"Did you know?" Amber coughed through her sobs, glass around her started to crack.

"Amber, please understand." His voice failing.

"I HATE YOU!"

Amber's bedroom door slamming was like a thunderclap.

You could hear it from the end of the street.


	2. Chapter 2: The Revelation

**Chapter Two: The Revelation**

 _How could he?_

Those were the words that kept going through her head over and over, swirling around like tornado. She still clenched the Hogwarts letter tightly in her hand. So tightly in fact that she had accidently ripped it in half resulting in her franticly try and tape it back together, with only moderate success. She must have read that letter probably 50 times that night to the point where she had it memorised. That included the extra piece of paper that also lay within that seemed to contain a list of school supplies.

That list sent her dizzy for hours. Owls, Spell books, and even a _Wand_!? Were these items that she could have in the future or would her Dad stop her from attending this wonderful school. She wanted to go, more than anything wanted to go to Hogwarts. Every time her hopes soared from the possibilities she was quickly brought back down to earth at the likelihood that her Dad would stop her.

No. She wouldn't let him decided if she could go or not. She would take matters into her own hands. After all she was a witch; there was nothing she couldn't do. With determination and resolve she grabbed her backpack and planned her escape. 15 Minutes later she was ready to go.

She pried open her door looking down the dark corridor. No light filled the upper floor, so carefully she made her way across the upper landing and down the stairs. She managed make it to the front door undetected. Her moment of escape was only a door handle away.

But something caught her eye at the last moment.

In the kitchen a small light illuminated the gap in the door. Quietly Amber peeked through the slit to see her father looking at something on the kitchen bench.

Curious as she was to see what her father was looking at, she couldn't let this moment slip by her. But when she turned around to head back for the front door she realised her mistake too late. As soon as her foot came down a loud creak sounded from the offending floorboard and reverberated throughout the house.

"Amber?" Mr McKinnon spoke; he opened the sliding door to the kitchen revealing Amber to the light. Taking a moment to absorb the sight of his daughter, Mr McKinnon relaxed. "Come here, I want to show you something."

Amber had no idea what was happening. She had been caught red handed trying to run away but her Dad wasn't angry just… tired. So Amber decided to follow him into the kitchen.

"Here."

Mr Mckinnon passed Amber a single photograph, that seemed to be black and white but what shocked Amber most of all was that people in the photo were moving.

"I know, shocked me the first time your Mum showed me one too."

"Is…Is that Mum?" Amber said pointing to the women in the centre of the picture in the arms of her Dad.

"Yes, and the rest of her family too. That picture was taken I think nearly 14 years ago now. Back when Ruby worked for the Ministry."

Ambers head swirled again. Every time she seemed to learn something more questions popped up. What was the Ministry, who were these people and how does her Dad know so much about all of this?

"Hot chocolate?" Mr McKinnon asked her daughter.

Amber nodded yes and moments later they were sitting down on the couch with Amber wrapped in her Dad's arms staring at the moving picture.

"I think it's time I give you the full story huh?" It was almost as though he was admitting defeat. "Alright, where to begin… I guess I should start when I first met your Mum."

Mr McKinnon took a long sip of his coffee and set it back down on the table.

"When I first met your Mum I was 21 I remember it so clearly. It started off as an argument. Apparently I had spilt coffee on her new coat, and I was getting an ear full from your Mum. Only it wasn't until a solid minute into the argument that she realised I wasn't drinking anything. She was so apologetic once she realised that she offered to replace my phantom coffee; I thought the whole thing was hilarious so I took her up on it." Amber nodded along with her father's story listening intently.

"One thing leads to another and we started dating, doing normal things like going to see movies and eating out, it was like that for about a year. And our relationship started to get pretty serious. It was around 91' I think when I asked her to move in with me. She was shocked of course and was _very_ hesitant going through with it and I had a feeling that she was holding something back. And boy was she."

"I can still hear her voice in my head as she spoke those words. 'I'm a witch' she said. I thought she was joking at first. I found it so funny I laughed at her face for about a minute. It was at that moment she got angry, whipped out her wand and silenced me. And well that shut me up… _Literally_." He finished with a slight chuckle that Amber couldn't help but recuperate.

"It took me a week to come around after that. I avoided her as much as I could. But as it turns out it's pretty hard to run and hide from a witch. So eventually your Mum caught up with me and _'persuaded'_ me to have a talk. And by _'persuaded'_ I mean she cast a leg locking curse on me so I couldn't run away whilst she told her side of the story." Amber giggled a bit at that one.

"After we talked and I got over the whole 'my girlfriend is a witch' thing, she moved in with me and things progressed with her slowly introducing me to her family and the wizarding world.  
Every time I thought there couldn't possibly be more, there was, and I marvelled at all of it. I loved your Mum Amber, I felt so honoured that she felt she could share something so amazing as her magic with me. Every time I saw her cast a spell or perform a charm I feel for her more." Amber was listening intently and curled further into her father's embrace.

As Amber felt her Dad's hug relax she could feel that he was getting to the part of the story she didn't want to hear. Her Dad closed his eyes as if he was meditating but finally he took a deep breath and started up again.

"It was not long after we had you that things got bad… A few years back there was a Dark wizard. He…He was bad Amber, really bad, the worst Dark Wizard the world has ever seen. He killed anyone who opposed him particularly _anyone_ related to Muggles." Amber's face started to pale she didn't like were this story was going.

"It was then we knew we had to get out. You were barely 3 years old when it happened. Your Mum arranged for us to stay in Canada whilst things in Britain were getting worse, but your Mum…. She… she refused to come straight away. Said that she had to help get the rest of her Family to safety. When she got back to the house the Death Eaters - the Dark wizard's followers - attacked our home. Your Mum and practically everyone in her family were killed."

By this point Amber was in tears and so was her Dad. This was the first time Amber was told the truth about her mother's death and it rocked her to her core. The two McKinnon's sat quietly in dark of their living room holding onto one another as the waves of emotion washed over them.

"I'm sorry Dad".

"You have nothing to apologise for my little gemstone, okay, if anything I am the one who needs to apologies for keeping this part of your life a secret. E... Ever since your Mum died whenever I see bits of magic it makes me miss her more." Amber sat silently whilst her Dad continued. "When you started showing your powers I freaked out, I pretended they didn't happen and ignored it. So I shut it out and swore I would never partake in that world again, but every time your magic flared it got harder and harder to pretend. I got angry."

Mr McKinnon sat back and pulled Amber out of the hug. He held her at arm's length, looking straight into her eyes whilst he cradled her cheeks in his palms.

"Amber I am sorry I did what I did. It was foolish of me to think I could force you to live a life without your Magic, I know from watching your Mum it is a part of you just as your legs and heart are a part of you. Can you ever forgiving me for being a stubborn old man?"

Amber's response was simple and sincere. "Of course Daddy"

Amber wasn't sure when she fell asleep up but it was well past noon when she woke. Disorientated, she tried to remember what she and her Dad talked about last night. Her memories were fuzzy and she felt completely drained. But as she rose from the couch and rubbed her eyes a small piece of paper floated out of her lap.

Picking up the paper Amber looked at the moving picture and everything came flooding back.

"Good morning, Gemstone." He leaned over the couch and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Morning Dad." Amber wearily replied.

"Think you can handle another surprise?" Amber nodded.

"Come on then." Mr McKinnon helped his daughter off the couch.

Following behind her Dad, Amber was led to the back porch overlooking the garden. Opening the back sliding door she watched curiously as her Dad stepped out and waited.

Moments later a black bird landed in front of her Dad on the porch railing, except it wasn't just any old bird, it was an owl.

The owl was gorgeous. The black wings seemed to go on forever and small light brown ring around his head and neck framed his beady eyes as they looked at her on a swivel.

"His name is 'Nocturne,' I think you can guess why." Amber just nodded her head as she slowly approached the bird. "Nocturne is an Eagle-Owl, your Mum found this one when he was a hatchling; he had a broken wing so she nursed him back to health."

Mr McKinnon continued to stroke the owl's feathers whilst he talked. "A... After you Mother passed away… I thought he'd fly off on his own but I guessed he figured you'd need him at some point so he followed us here. I spotted him nesting in the big maple across the road a few years back."

"Can I touch him?" Amber asked, looking on in awe.

"You'll have to ask Nocturne that."

Amber tentatively reach out her hand to the bird to stroke its feathers only for him to give one giant flap - making Amber squeak- then proceeding to land effortlessly on her arm and start playfully nibbling at her ear.

"Ah… that tickles!"

"He used to do the same thing with your Mum." Mr McKinnon chuckled. "I think he likes you."

"Yeah well I like him too, he's gorgeous." Amber said, stroking the owls head.

"I expect you to take good care of him."

"I can keep him!?" Her Dad's comment had startled Amber, which in turn startled Nocturne causing him to open his wings giving Amber a mouth full of feathers.

"Your Mum would have wanted it that way. Besides I think Nocturne would much prefer to sleep in your room instead of in that old tree."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Amber rejoiced as she tried to hug her Dad with an Owl on her arm. Nocturne took the hint however and flew off to parts unknown.

"Awww, why'd he leave?" Amber cried out with tears threatening to spill over.

"Don't worry too much, he'll be back, he's probably just hungry and went out looking for food."

"Okay…"

"Why don't you go upstairs and get cleaned up. Today's going to be a big day."

When Amber came back down stairs nearly an hour later she could hear a conversation going on. As she got closer to the living room the familiar voice of Professor Hackle filled her ears with joy. She raced the rest of the way down.

"Professor Hackle, you came back!" Amber shouted as she interrupted the current conversation.

"Amber! Manners!" Mr McKinnon scorned.

"Sorry."

"I assure you it is quite all right Mr McKinnon, no harm done," Professor Hackle said, "So Amber, your Dad tells me you might have some questions about Hogwarts you would like me to answer?"

"Um, yes…. right." Amber had no idea where to begin, she had a 1000 questions she wanted the Professor to answer but had no idea which one to ask first so it all kind of came out as a babbling mess.

"Who did Hogwarts teach my Mum to fly?" She said rapidly.

Professor Hackle blinked a moment trying to decipher the words that came out of Amber's mouth. "Sorry my dear I don't think I quite understand the question."

"Amber, calm down. Professor Hackle isn't going anywhere she has all the time in the world to answer your questions." Mr McKinnon chastised.

"You were saying my dear." Professor Hackle prompted Amber to continue.

Taking a breath and settling herself down Amber organised her thoughts and asked her question. "Did my Mum go to Hogwarts?"

"Yes of course, that's part of the reason why you been offered a place at Hogwarts. You are what we call a legacy student; otherwise you might be snapped by Ilvermorny."

"Ilvermorny?"

"It is the Magic School of North America." Professor Hackle replied a matter a factly.

"Oh." Amber's brain cells were doing their best to keep up. "Hang on, if Ilvermorny is in North America then where is Hogwarts?"

Surprisingly it was Amber's Dad that offered the answer, not Professor Hackle. "It's in the U.K. Scotland somewhere, at least that's what I heard." Professor Hackle nodded in agreement.

"Scotland?" Amber solemnly replied. "That's pretty far away."

"Not for witches and wizard's it's not Amber. You forget magic can do some pretty spectacular things, besides Hogwarts is sort of a boarding school." Professor Hackle offered. "Do you have any other questions my dear?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! Um, so is it possible to learn how to fly?"

Professor Hackle chuckled slightly at the question, causing the young girl to make a face. "I am sorry my dear, I have been asked that question a lot recently. But, yes witches and wizards do have means of transportation that allow us to fly such as brooms and flying cars. Hogwarts offers Flying lessons for brooms to all 1st students, so yes. You will be able to learn how to fly." This left Amber with a big smile on her face.

Amber was about to launch into her next question when Nocturne flew into the room dropping a letter onto the table then swooped around to land on Mr McKinnon's armrest.

Seeing that the letter was addressed to her, Professor Hackle picked it up and read it quietly. Her face went from a cheery smile to that of a frown whilst she read.

"Bad news?"

"Not bad so much as complicated." Professor Hackle said. "Seems a Muggle family is having a hard time taking the news that their son is a wizard and Professor Flitwick has asked for assistance in explaining the situation. I am terribly sorry Amber, I do not wish to leave until I have satisfied your questions but this is a delicate case."

Amber looked practically sullen as she tried to hide her disappointment. She had only gotten to talk to the Professor for only a few minutes before she got up and left. "No, it's okay Professor Hackle."

"Cheer up my dear, will see each other soon, once you get to Hogwarts you can come find my office and ask me all the questions you desire. Okay?" Lifting up the girl's chin Professor Hackle gave her a smile.

It wasn't until a few seconds later that Amber had realised what Professor Hackle had just said. 'Once you get to Hogwarts'. Turning to her head with her eyes bright she hopefully asked her Dad. "Does that mean?"

"Yes you can go."

Both Adults had to cover their ears from the squeal of joy that the young girl emitted when she raced across the room into the arms of her Dad; screaming thank you over and over again.

"That is if you still want to go?" Mr McKinnon inquired.

"Huh?"

"You seemed worried at how far away it is."

"Oh… Yeah." Amber only second guessed herself for 3 seconds before she turned back to her Dad. "I want to go Hogwarts."

Levelling a long sigh Mr McKinnon produced an envelope and handed it to Professor Hackle "If you wouldn't mind giving this to the Headmistress, to save Nocturne the trip?"

"Yes of course, I must ask though. Will you be alright getting everything in London?" Professor Hackle asked.

"Yes we should be fine. It's been awhile since I've been to Diagon Alley but we'll manage, if worst comes to worst I'll get my Cousin-in-law to come with us, we will be hopefully staying with her for the few days leading up to the start of school, I'll find out once her owl comes."

"Very well, I'd recommend heading to the Alley next Friday as Professor Flitwick will be taking most of the Muggle families with him on that day. It might not be a bad idea to have a little extra wisdom whilst you are there, no?"

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

"It was wonderful to meet you again Amber, I do hope you will drop by my office at Hogwarts, and please take care of yourself until then. Remember magic is all about control, I don't want to hear about anymore outbursts from you."

"Yes, Professor." The reply came with a slight blush to Amber's checks. "I'll make sure to come by your office." Professor Hackle returned the answer with a smile.

"Would you mind if I use your fireplace Mr McKinnon?"

"I'm not sure if it's connected yet I only sent the owl out early this morning but if it is you are welcome to use it, I'd offer you some Floo but I have no idea where Ruby's jar ended up."

"Oh that is quite alright I always carry a few scoops on my person just in case." Professor Hackle withdrew her wand, and a swish later a small bag materialised in front of her whilst her hat magically rose up landed on her head.

The last thing Amber remembered seeing was Professor Hackle walking into the fireplace with a handful of powder. Then all of a sudden she dropped the powder at her feet whilst clearly speaking the words 'Ministry of Magic, Toronto'. Then in burst of green flames she vanished.

"Wow!" Was all Amber was able to say.

"I'm going to have to show you a few more things about the magical world before we leave aren't I?"

Amber just nodded, still staring at the fireplace.


	3. Chapter 3: Familiar Strangers

**Chapter Three: Familiar Strangers**

Amber was enjoying her last day in Nova Scotia by spending some quality time with Nocturne when all she could hear was a loud thump which was closely followed by an equally as loud swear word.

"Dad? Dad what are you doing?" Amber called once she left the confines of her room. The Attic ladder was down and a large trunk laid hap hazardly at the bottom of it.

"I'm up here Gemstone." Mr McKinnon said.

"Why are you in the attic?"

"Looking for something." This was followed by the sound of glass shattering.

"Sounds more like you're breaking something."

"Everyone's a critic." Mr McKinnon said as he descended from the attic.

"What's that? " Amber said pointing at the box her Dad was carrying.

"This… ah… well it's something to help us get to Britain." Mr McKinnon said, inspecting the contents of the box. "I hope it still works."

Amber's was trying to figure out what inside the box and how one earth it was going to help them get to Britain.

"Come have a look at this." Mr McKinnon said waving over his daughter to the trunk. "This was your Mum's trunk when she went to Hogwarts. Not sure what's in it but you never know, there might be some useful things still left inside that you can take with you."

The inside of the trunk was filled to the brim. Old spell books were stacked on top of one another; each with its own unique design and cover. A large pile of clothes neatly folded were pushed up against one side with two pictures wedged in amongst them. Amber recognised the first picture as one of her Mum and Dad, but the second one was of 5 people that she didn't recognise save for her mum.

Various vials and bottles sat inside a small cauldron which was padded with some socks so they didn't break. And lastly a telescope lay disassembled in the centre of the trunk dividing it in two. Amber was busy flipping through various books when she heard her Father make a discovery.

"I don't believe it." Amber turned to her Dad and watched him unwrap a small spy glass from a silk cloth.

"What's that?" Amber inquired, immediately gaining her Dad's attention.

"This was your mother's Spyglass. Ruby and her friends made it when they were in their 7th year at Hogwarts. Here I think it's better to show you what it can do rather than explain it." Passing the Spyglass to Amber her Dad instructed her to look at the bathtub.

"But the door to the Bathroom is closed."

"Just point at where you think the tub would be."

Sceptical, Amber held the spy glass up to her left eye and looked through it at the tub. Ever so gently her Dad turned one of the rings around the end and Amber let out a small yelp.

"I can see the bathtub!" Opening her right eye to confirm that the door was in fact still closed. Amber turned herself around and looked at all the different rooms in her house.

"It's enchanted to show a silhouette of a person if you try and look under their clothes, evidently your Mum didn't trust some of the boys back when she was at school. It can see through just about anything (magical or not) your Mum never did find something it couldn't see through." Her father mused. "It does get blurry though if try and see through too many layers at once, so keep that in mind."

Amber decided to test the theory and noticed that if tried to see into the house two doors down everything inside the house looked like it was behind a foggy window.

"It takes a bit of getting used to. You got to use the rings around the lenses to hone in and focus what you want to see, your Mum was a whizz with it. She got so good she could look into someone's pockets even when they flew around on a broom."

Amber spent the rest of the day going through her Mother's trunk with her Dad. She eventually caved to her Dad's request to try on some of her Mum's old clothes. Amber wasn't ungrateful but the style of clothes was just a bit strange for her. The robes in particular she found quite awkward and the other 'normal' clothes were from back in the 80's and early 90's. Plus her Mum had a horrible taste in fashion, seriously who would wear a yellow and black scarf?

She was still a bit small compared to her Mum so most of her old robes and stuff wouldn't fit for a few more years. Some things however, like her Mum's old cloak and pointed hat would still work for her and there were a couple of the more 'normal' items that weren't…. horrible, and that fitted her.

Unfortunately for Amber a lot of the books for her first year course weren't in the trunk save for one called ' _Fantastic Beasts and where to find them_ ' _._ Amber was hoping to read some of the other books anyway but when her Dad found out that they were for 6th and 7th year students he quickly relieved them from her. At least he let her keep her Mum's old notebook even if she couldn't understand anything in it.

6pm hit and it became time to go. Amber stood nervously in the living room dressed in her mums old clothes, looking at an old frying pan. The dress and boots she didn't mind, but the robe was kind of itchy and was still a bit big for her.

"Ready to go?" Mr McKinnon questioned.

"Not really." Came the nervous reply.

"You look just like me the first time I travelled by Portkey. Don't worry, remember what I said, just make sure you hold on to the really tight."

Amber thought for a moment and took a deep breath, looking intently at the old toaster sitting in the middle of the living room floor. "Remind me again what that thing is?"

"It's a something called a Portkey. Witches and Wizard's use it to travel vast distances." Mr McKinnon explained. "Your Mum charmed it to take her right back to McKinnon house in an emergency. Never thought I'd ever actually use it to be honest."

Amber continued to look nervously at the toaster, she wished Nocturne was here but her Dad had already sent him off earlier with a letter. She still couldn't work out why witches and wizard's communicated with owls and letters instead of say, telephones; it was a thought shared by her Dad as well.

"Ready?"

Taking one last look at the house she had spent the last 8 years living in. Amber took a moment and then nodded to her dad.

"Grab the pan in… Three… two… one… NOW!"

Amber didn't know how but she was face first in some carpet. She remembered grabbing the toaster and feeling something hook her from behind after that everything was a blur.

"You alright Amber?" Mr McKinnon asked, also not sounding too well.

"Ergh.… Why am on the floor?"

"That would be because your father thought it would be an absolutely wonderful idea to make an 11 year old first time using a Portkey transcontinental." A 3rd voice sounded from behind her, it was clearly female but somehow Amber thought she had heard it before.

As she tried to get up, she found she was being helped by presumably the same person who spoke behind her. Once she got to her feet Amber wobbled a bit still feeling dizzy, and she was slowly eased into a large chair near the fireplace.

For the first time since arriving Amber finally got a good look at the mystery woman in front of her.  
She wore grey robes similar to her own, however unlike hers the grey robe was trimmed with red lace, and the pockets on the robes were pinned in with buttons. Her chestnut hair was pulled up in a high ponytail adorned with clips and feathers. Lastly a small set of glasses hung folded up in her neckline.

"My head is swimming." Amber complained.

"A bit of Portkey sickness is to be expected for your first time especially with the length of the trip you just took, I'm surprised you didn't throw up."

"Please don't remind me." Clutching her mouth.

"Or me." Mr McKinnon added. He was currently lying down on the couch opposite her, looking quite ill. "I don't particularly want to hurl again."

"Oh shush Greg, you deserve everything you get bringing your daughter that far. Honestly if Ruby was here she would be zapping you silly right now. I have a good right mind to do so myself."

"Ease off, can you think of a better way to get to Britain that doesn't involve a large sum of money?"

Amber continued to watch the banter between her Dad and the mystery women. Their argument was hilarious to watch and for the first time she saw her Dad on the losing side. The lady in question even started throwing pillows at her Dad across the room with her wand, whilst he tried to deflect them without losing his stomach. Amber watched the magic being displayed in front of her in awe, wondering if she will be able to do that at some point.

"Okay, enough, I give, I give." Her Dad said as he nearly fell of the coach.

It was when Amber was leaning down to pick a cushion up off the floor to cuddle that the mystery women remembered there was another in the room.

"I am so sorry Amber where are my manners, my name is Saffron McKinnon. I was your Mum's cousin, so I think that makes us 1st cousins once removed if I am not mistaken."

Amber nodded uncertainly.

"Either way it is wonderful to meet to meet you again. We _are_ family so this is your house as much as it is mine. So make yourself at home." Saffron finished by giving the young girl a hug.

Amber curiously looked around the living room which was dominated by a massive dining table that could easily sit over a dozen people; the table had a large vase upon it with strange flowers which filled the house with a homely scent.

Doors led off to various sections of the house that made the young girl wonder what else there was to see. Lastly a set of comfortable chairs and couches were placed in a semi-circle around a fireplace which is where Amber currently now sat.

"This house is amazing." Amber said breathlessly. "I would love to live here."

"You have." Mr McKinnon supplied.

"I'm sure I would have remembered a place as wonderful as this."

"It was a long time ago Amber, you were very small." To prove the point Saffron levitated a photograph from the mantel piece over to her. The photo was of her and her Mum playing hide and seek under the big dining table, it of course moved like all of the others.

Amber could feel the tears threatening to overtake her. Where had this life come from? Before she could question it anymore Saffron enveloped her in a soul melting embrace.

Dinner as it happens was surprisingly quiet. All three members at the table were felt extraordinarily awkward about the whole situation and no one seemed to know what to say to each other. All the conversations - if any - resulted in a single question being asked and usually being answered with one word.

Such as: 'How's work?' being answered with 'Alright' and 'Yeah' being the reply to 'Do you like the food'.

Saffron prepared a pretty nice array of roasted vegetables all of which was topped by a delicious mince sauce. There was even an apple and pear pie for desert made with fruit from the garden.

Amber excused herself after dinner and wandered around McKinnon house. A strange sense of nostalgia surrounded her as she seemingly remembered how to get to various parts of the old home.

The House seemed massive compared to her home back in Canada. Although the house was a single story the attic had been converted into a make shift 2nd floor with two separate bedrooms that overlooked the garden. The ground floor, in addition to the amazing living room Amber had already seen, had another 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms to service them. The kitchen was well stocked and full of all sorts of goodies; if one payed close attention they would find a stair case at the back of the pantry that lead to the basement.

But the thing that surprised Amber the most was the walls. All around the walls of the house were various paintings and portraits, not too strange at first. Until of course you noticed that like her Dad's photo of her Mum the paintings moved and the people in them seemed to gossip and point at the new visitor. She would have stopped and looked at all of the Portraits that she walked by, but they all seemed to hush to a whisper whenever she was within earshot.

Amber finally found a room that was devoid of any portraits allowing her to get away from rude whispers. Up a small little ladder in the hallway, Amber sat quietly on a bed in a room that had clearly been converted from the attic.

"I was wondering where you had wondered off to."

"Ah!" Saffron's head peeked up through the ladder, surprising Amber out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Saffron apologised.

"It's okay. I was just thinking." Amber replied.

"A Sickle for your thoughts?" Saffron asked, climbing into the room and sitting down next to her cousin.

"A what?"

"Never mind." Saffron said shaking her head. "What's on your mind?"

"It's just, this room feels so familiar, but I can't recall ever being in here."

Saffron giggled lightly at her cousin's confession. "I imagine that would be the case. You were only about 3 years old when you were last here."

Amber slumped onto the bed. More secrets about herself that she didn't know.

"Is there anything else I don't know about myself?" Amber whined.

"Maybe just a few more things." Saffron comforted whilst she brushed a loose strand of hair out of Amber's face. "Just take it slow, it's a lot to take in."

"I just wish I knew who I was and who my family are. All I've known for the longest time was my Dad and my grandpa Bill... I barely can remember my Mum's face, let alone anything else and I just…. I just wish I knew more."

"Well, maybe I can help you?" Saffron offered. "Is there anything you would like to know about the magical side of the family?"

Amber's heart soared, of course Saffron would know. She and her Mum were cousins!

"Do we have any other relatives?" Amber asked.

"No, sadly. It's just us left."

"Oh…" Amber whispered, bringing an uncomfortable silence between the two witches. The silence would have stayed longer but one of Amber couldn't stand it. "Do you know what happened when my Mum died? Dad said she… she was killed when the house got attacked."

"I.… I don't know much about what happened." Saffron said apologetically. "I know that the house got sacked by Death Eaters, in fact if you look around the place closely you can still see some marks from the battle. But beyond that I don't really remember, I wish I could tell you more."

"You can't remember?" Amber queried.

"No sadly…. I've been sick for a very long time."

"You were sick?"

"Yes…." Saffron said staring at the wall in front of her.

"Are you all better now?"

"Hmmmm.… Oh yes I'm fine now. But like you it's been a bit of a struggle to readjust to the world."

"Readjust? What do you mean?"

"I…. I've been in a coma for 7 years." Saffron admitted.

"A coma? That sounds awful." Amber looked at Saffron worriedly; the elder witches' hands were visibly shaking.

"It has been surreal. The last thing I remember was talking to your Mum in the living room and then the next thing I know I'm waking up in St Mungo's 7 years later." Saffron recounted before taking a shallow breath.

"I thought that the coma was it and that my friends and family would come and visit me soon enough. But to my horror I find out my entire family had been killed in the very raid that put me in a coma. Even now I still look at the fireplace or the front door and expect Ruby or Grams to walk in as if nothing changed. The past few months have been hell, I don't know if I'll ever get over it."

"I can't even imagine what that would have been like." The weight of what Saffron had just confessed felt like a tonne of bricks. It weighed heavy on Amber's soul.

"I think you have a better idea than most." Saffron smiled sadly at Amber.

"Maybe…"

"I know you miss your Mum, I do too and not a day goes by where I don't think of her. She was like a sister to me."

Amber leaned into Saffron as thoughts of her Mum overwhelmed her. She could feel the tears coming on but made no effort to stop them.

"What was my Mum like?" Amber asked once she had stopped crying.

"She.… She was a lot like you in a way. Even the way you talk is similar."

"I'm like my Mum?"

"Terribly so. I think your Dad has even picked up on it." Saffron mused. "Though, I don't think he'll ever say anything about it."

"Is he sad because I remind him of Mum?" Amber questioned.

"Maybe, but I think him accepting the fact that you are a witch is allowing him to relive his time with Ruby. Haven't you noticed he's a big softy now? "

"A little." Amber giggled.

"You'll see, now that you're back home we'll be a family again."

"What happened to our family?" Amber thought out loud. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ask that."

"It's okay Amber." Saffron replied sadly, unsure if she should continue. "Our family was targeted and in the end hunted down because we refused to side with You-Know-Who, but most importantly because we fought to protect our Muggle friends. That it is why it's such a miracle you and your Dad survived."

"Don't get me wrong I'm grateful that I survived, I just wish I got a chance to meet my family, you know?"

"I do know Amber." Saffron said giving her little cousin a squeeze. "I can't tell what's worse. Knowing your family and then suddenly waking up to find them gone.… Or not knowing your family and finding out they died to protect you."

"I don't know either…" Amber mournfully replied.

"Either way they're our burdens to bear. I'll help carry yours if you help me carry mine?"

"Deal!" Amber said smiling at her cousin, sharing a little handshake.

For the rest of the night Saffron regaled Amber with stories from her childhood, of her Mum, and of their Family. Amber wished her cousin would share more of her stories about Hogwarts, but Saffron seemed practically guarded about those and would change the topic as soon as the subject came up; only giving the most barest of details when pushed.

Even still Saffron had plenty to entertain her with and it was nearly midnight when Mr McKinnon finally poked his head up into the room break up the little bonding session. "Sorry Amber. But I think it's time to go to bed, it's nearly midnight."

"Awwww…" Amber whined. "Saffron was just getting to the good bit."

"You can hear the rest of it in the morning. Now come down and washed up."

Amber turned to Saffron to find some sympathy but found none. "Sorry Amber, but your Dad's right. You should probably get to bed; you have been yawning non-stop for the past hour."

"No I hav…" Amber attempted to reply until a loud yawn took hold of her.

"Oh really?" Saffron questioned, bringing a blush to Amber's checks.

"Okay…." Amber admitted. "But where am I supposed to sleep?"

"Good question." Mr McKinnon briefly paused. "Which rooms have you set up Saffron?"

"All the rooms save for mine are set up ready for guests." Saffron replied. "Though… I think Amber might enjoy the room we are currently in more than the others."

"I can stay in this room!" Amber squealed.

"No, out of the question. I want her on the ground floor. She'll get into mischief if she's up here alone." Mr McKinnon retorted.

"Really Greg?" Saffron said unimpressed. "Just like how you and Ruby got into mischief."

Amber had never seen her Dad blush before and it was just as adorable as she thought it might be.

"Fine..." Mr McKinnon mumbled before climbing down the ladder and disappearing to parts unknown.

"Thanks Saffron!" Amber said whilst giving her cousin a bone crushing hug.

"Ease up girly or you're going to suffocate me."

"Sworry."

"It's alright." Saffron replied. "Though I will admit it's going to be weird having someone else stay in my old room."

"Oh, I thought it was my Mum's." Amber apologised. "It's okay I'll move to a differe….

"No it's alright Amber." Saffron said cutting her cousin off. "You'll like this room better. Your Mum had the other attic bedroom when she lived here, and she spent years trying to get me to switch with her because the sun always shone through her window, waking her up every morning."

"I'll take this room then." Amber said far too quickly, earning a knowing smile from Saffron. "My room back in Nova Scotia faced the sea. I always hated how the sun shone through it every morning. I liked the view though."

Saffron couldn't help but laugh at her cousin's confession, making Amber blush.

"And with that I think it's time to get to bed." Saffron half giggled, the humour from earlier still echoing through her.

" 'Night Saffron."

Saffron smiled at her cousin kindly before she exited the room down the ladder. "Good night Amber, and welcome home."

Amber had hardly left Saffron's side during the week leading up to September 1st.

The young witch bombarded her cousin endlessly with questions about Hogwarts, her family and magic in general. Her enthusiasm for all things magical was boundless. Other witches and wizards who meet Amber during this time thought Saffron was mad for letting her hang around so closely, but as it turns out Saffron welcomed the attention from the girl.

Truth be told Amber reminded Saffron of her favourite cousin.

Needless to say Amber was an excited bundle of nerves once Friday rolled around. She awoke 2 hours early trying to get her Dad and Saffron to hurry up and get ready and even with Saffron reminding Amber that the shops won't be open yet, that didn't stop Amber for attempting to push things along anyway.

"Wow." Was the only word that escaped Amber's lips once they arrived by Floo in Diagon Alley, a word that was quickly becoming her catch phrase.

Amber soaked in the atmosphere. Even though it wasn't much past 9am the small street was already starting to fill up with witches and wizards getting their supplies before the school year started. It took several pokes by Amber's cousin before she got the idea to move on and they steadily walked down the Alley.

"So where are we going to start? Can we get my Wand first?" Amber asked excitedly.

"Hold your horses Amber," Mr McKinnon coughed. He was holding his hand to his mouth, desperately trying not to throw up. "Give me a sec."

Mr McKinnon quickly ducked around a corner, much to the amusement of Saffron who laughed humorously.

"Is Dad going to be alright?" Amber asked the older witch.

"Oh, he'll be fine. Unlike you and me your Dad is a Muggle." Saffron said with a wink.

"Why is that important?"

"Well you see, Muggle's tend to get pretty bad Floo sickness when they travel by fireplace because they don't have any magic in them. It's generally advised they shouldn't travel by Floo but your Dad's a stubborn idiot, so, here we are." Saffron explained.

"I see…" Amber said, thinking of the things her Dad had done for her. A passing owl however quickly snapped her out of her thoughts, reminding her where she was. "So where are we going to go first? I really want to go get my wand."

Saffron laughed at her cousin's antics. "With all that energy you got bouncing around inside of you I think we will be getting that particular item last. Besides we need to go to the bank first."

"The Bank? But that's boring. Why do we have to all the stuff I want to do last?" Amber pouted.

"I think you'll find bank more than interesting." Saffron offered.

"I doubt it."

"We'll see." Saffron grinned.

Upon entering through front door of Gringotts, Amber expected many things, Bank tellers, lines of people and insurance forms among them. What she was not expecting however were Goblins, bright gold coins and crystal roof that produced a beautiful array of colours on the marble floor.

Saffron couldn't help but laugh at her cousin's wide eyed stares. "I told you so didn't I? Stay close to me and your Dad though, Goblins aren't always friendly to Humans." Saffron said, pulling Amber in close to her with a sideways hug.

Approaching the front desk Amber's father took a step forward to speak with the Goblin sitting there.

"I would like to make a withdrawal."

The Goblin leaned forward and took in the sight Mr McKinnon and the girls behind him. "Ah, and which vault are we accessing today?"

"We would like to make the withdrawal from vault 545, here is the key." Mr McKinnon then produced a necklace with a small key attached to the end.

"Very well, this way please." The Goblin dismounted from the Desk and walked toward the vault doors.

Amber was about to move when Saffron stayed behind. "Don't worry Amber, go with your Dad down into the vaults, I just have a couple of things I need to do up here." With a little push Amber hurried after her Dad.

The ride down to the vault was some of the best fun Amber ever had. She compared it riding on a roller coaster. Her Dad however wasn't too fond of the ride. Arriving at their destination the Goblin slammed on the brakes, exited the cart, and then proceeded to walk towards the Vault doors.

"Stand back please." The goblin ordered as he inserted the key and opened the vault.

The doors swung open revealing a treasure trove behind them and Amber's eyes bugged out of her head. Gold, Silver and Bronze coins were neatly stacked up in rows along the left wall. Various chests and boxes sat on the right; Amber even spotted a suit of armour towards the back.

"This is the McKinnon family vault; only…. only you and Saffron have access to it now." Although Mr McKinnon said it matter of factly Amber could feel the pain in his voice.

"Wow, I didn't realise we were so rich." Amber said awestruck.

"Not that rich, there aren't a lot of Galleons in here." Mr McKinnon said referring to the stack of gold coins. "But we are doing okay. We've inherited a lot family possessions."

Taking a large amount of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts, and stuffing them into a bag Mr McKinnon motioned for Amber to leave. Amber boarded the cart with her Dad and headed back to the surface, she was surprised it moved at the same speed up as it did down.

Saffron had a devious smile on her face when Amber and her Dad returned to the lobby and refused to tell either of them what was going on. She merely responded with "You'll find out eventually".

And that was that.

Amber was practically pulling both Saffron and her Dad out of Gringotts urging the both of them to hurry up.

Mr McKinnon merely shook his head as they exited the bank and turned to Saffron. "Let the fun begin."


	4. Chapter 4: The Shops of Diagon Alley

**Chapter Four: The Shops of Diagon Alley**

Casey wished his parents wouldn't be so difficult.

They had been in Flourish and Blotts for over an hour now, and Casey was long past being over it. His parent's latest escapade in humiliation, was them arguing with the book store clerk, about the contents of course books.

Even with Professor Flitwick trying to keep everything the under control, it was becoming more and more stressful, and Casey could tell that even the Professor, was starting to lose his patience.

Casey was absolutely thrilled when he got his Hogwarts letter. He hoped and hoped, that this was the opportunity he needed to fix everything wrong in his life. After all, it explained so much of the weird stuff that seemed too just, happen, around him.

But alas, everything seemed to get worse once his parents found out; his sister was cool with it though, excited even. But his parents refused to accept that their darling little boy, could use Magic.

And so began the arduous week, of trying to explain everything to his parents, and getting them to be okay with sending him to Hogwarts. It was tough, but once Professor Flitwick sent for one of the other teachers of the school, (Professor Hackleworth as it happens), to come help clear things up, everything started to improve. Although slow going at first, they managed to convince his parents in the end; turns out telling them that the tuition for the school, was paid for, in full, by the Wizarding government, helped significantly.

But that little trick only resulted in making today worse. When they found out that although the tuition was free, all the extra stuff like books, uniforms and wands; had to be paid for. This in turn made his parent's question: "If they can pay for the tuition, why can't they pay for the books?"

Casey let out a long sigh, as he heard his parents renew their argument with the book store clerk. He was just thankful that they were now nearing the end of the shopping list, so he could get away from this nightmare. Aside from an Owl, a Cat or a Toad, (which his parents forbade him to have), all that was left to acquire, was a wand.

"Hi! How's it going, I love your hair! It's so dark and mysterious."

"Huh?" Casey looked up and saw a young girl giggling at him. She had deep brown eyes and an infectious smile.

"I said 'Hi' silly, normally people say hi back, what's your name? Are you going to Hogwarts this year too?" The girl asked with far too much enthusiasm.

"Ahhh…. yeah, um, my names Casey Jands but all my friends call me CJ… and yes, I'm going to Hogwarts this year too.… at least, I hope so…. Oh, and 'Hi', by the way." Casey nervously replied.

"Coolio! My names Amber, but everyone calls me Amber." Amber said laughing at her own joke. "Hey come on, cheer up! In a couple of days you'll be going to like, the best school ever! It can't be so bad can it? At least you're not like those peoples kid or something."

Amber gestured to his parents at the front of the store. "I mean yikes! You would think that they would have at _least,_ tone down the anti-witch and wizard stuff in a room full of them."

Casey cringed as the girl hit the nail on the head, though he wished she hadn't been so tactless about it.

"Yeah…." Casey scratched the back of his ear. "That's kind of my Mum and Dad."

The moment the words escaped his lips, the girl gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

"I am _SO_ sorry! I didn't know." Amber said sheepishly.

"It's okay, you couldn't have known." Casey sighed, "I just wish they would be a bit more tempered about it, but they're my folks, so I exactly can't really get rid of them.… I wish my sister was here, she's good with things like this."

"Is your sister a witch too?" Amber asked.

"Na, she's ' _normal'_. " Casey said using air quotes. "But she's cool, she thinks me being able to do magic is pretty awesome, plus she's really good at keeping secrets."

"Well that's a relief, I hope I can meet her sometime, she sounds nice. Does that mean both your parents are Muggles?"

"Muggles?"

"Non-Magical peeps." Amber clarified.

"Ah, then yes, they are both Muggles." Casey answered.

"Say have you got all your stuff for school?" Amber asked before the conversation went stale.

"No not yet, I just have to get a wand. We'd already have it, if my parents hadn't slowed everything down. I think they were keeping it till last, you know, to try and keep me away from magic for as long as possible."

"Oh? That's awesome!"

"Huh? My parent's being prats?"

"No, I mean, I only need to get my wand as well, we should totally get ours together!"

"You'd be okay getting your wand with my parents around?" Casey asked skeptically.

"Hmmmm…." Casey watched as Amber stared at the wall for a moment deep in thought. "Why don't I get my Dad and Cousin to go talk to your folks, then while they're doing that, we can go get our wands? My Dad was pretty hard on me at first too. Mostly because of my Mum, but he's really turned around, and has helped me _SO_ much in the past week. Plus he's a Muggle, so they'll have something in common."

"I don't know if they'll go for it… I don't know if I'd go for it." Casey responded.

"Come on it'll be fun!"

Amber's enthusiasm was contagious, and after a little more begging and pleading, eventually Casey agreed. Amber then waved over her Dad and Cousin.

"What's happening Gemstone?" Mr McKinnon asked.

"DAD!" Amber said threw gritted teeth. "Don't be uncool."

Casey wished his parents would humiliate him like that, instead of the way they were now.

Laughing off his daughter's antics, Mr McKinnon continued the conversation. "Well sorry for being 'Uncool', who's your friend here?"

"Okay. So, this is CJ, his parents are the ones that ahhh.… are up the front, and well I was wondering… Well both of us were wondering actually, if you wouldn't mind talking to them… whilst we go get our wands together." Amber had started off her request strong, but became more uncertain as she pitched it.

"Hmmmm…." Was the only response they got from either adult.

"Please Dad. It would mean the world to us, and CJ hasn't had a great day, which is like, nearly impossible. Please, can we at least end it on a high note for him?"

"I would really appreciate it you could talk to them Amber's Dad. Amber said you were really accepting and helpful to her." Casey added.

"What do you think Saffron?" Mr McKinnon asked.

Saffron, who had watched this exchange silently, was weighing things up in her head before she spoke. "I don't think it's a bad idea, it can take a while to find the right wand, and Morgana knows I could have used a friend when I got mine."

"Alright." Mr McKinnon sighed, relenting to the kids.

"Yes! Thanks Dad. Come on CJ, I've been dying to go to Ollivander's all day!"

This was the happiest Casey had felt all day. He would soon have his wand, but more importantly, he'd be getting away from his parents, for a little while.

"Wait up you two, can't have you both running off unsupervised." Saffron announced, catching up to the two kids.

"Sorry, Saffron." Amber apologised. She knew it was pretty much her fault, for dragging them off like that.

Saffron gave Amber a stern look, before turning back to them. "CJ, Greg has gone to let Professor Flitwick know, that I'm taking you to Ollivander's, whilst he has a chat with your parents. I'll drop you both off and then head back to help. Once you're done, I want you to wait just outside the store, until one of us comes back to collect you, ok?"

"Sure thing, Miss Saffron." Casey agreed.

"It's just Saffron sweetie, well come on then, let's go see Mr Ollivander ."

Ollivander's Wand Emporium, was something that neither Casey nor Amber, was thoroughly prepared for. In every nook and cranny, there were wands, and Casey was convinced that 90% of the store, was taken up by them. All of the room left to move in, where the small little walkways, and the space in front of, and behind, the counter.

"Ah, fresh young faces I see! Come to get their wands, for the new school year." Mr Ollivander startled them, as he appeared from seemingly nowhere.

Amber was practically bouncing off the walls, she was so excited. Casey decided to instead to play it a little cool, and contain his excitement, albeit poorly.

"Hello Mr Ollivander , I'm Amber, and that's CJ." Amber introduced.

"A pleasure to meet both of you. Now then, which fine young witch or wizard will be getting their wand first, hmmm?"

Casey was extremely surprised to see that Amber hadn't jumped at it yet. Instead she just stared at Casey, her excited energy wound up in anticipation.

"I think Amber better get hers first, or she's going to explode." Casey laughed.

"Oh thank you." Amber rushed a sigh of relief.

"Excellent! Let us start with the young witch!" Mr Ollivander proclaimed.

A small tape measure flew out of Mr Ollivander 's pocket, and started measuring Amber's arms. Casey felt a pang of envy at the wand maker's comment, but he decided to be patient and wait. These things take time, he'll get his opportunity soon enough.

"Almost forgot my dear, which is your wand arm." Mr Ollivander asked from the back.

"Well I write with my left hand, if that's what you mean?"

"Ah, a lefty! That'll make a difference, no…. no… these won't do. Ah! Perhaps this one." Mr Ollivander scurried back, and handed a wand to Amber. Her hands were shaking so much, that she nearly dropped the wand when she was passed it. "Hazel, 11 ¾ Inches, stiff."

"Oh, thank you Mr Ollivander !" Amber said looking at the wand intently.

Casey got the feeling that there was more to it than that. "Hold on Amber I don't think that's it."

"Yes yes, quite right. You need to slow, down, my girl, that might not be the right wand for you; why don't you give it a wave."

Confused, Amber gave the wand a wave, only for a giant box to fall out of the rafters. Landing hard on a table towards the back, causing both Casey and Amber to jump.

"Nope, I don't think that's it." Mr Ollivander plucked the wand from Amber's finger tips, and disappeared back into the depths of the shop.

"I don't understand, Mr Ollivander can't I have a wand?" Amber looked almost heartbroken, when the wand was removed from her hand, her guilt evident, at the mess she made.

"My dear Amber, as I have told nearly every Witch and Wizard who has walked through that door. 'The wand chooses the witch or wizard'. Although we may not understand why, it has been generally understood, that this is indeed the case. You need to find your wand, not _a_ wand, _your_ wand, the one that answers only to you."

"I think I understand." Amber whispered to herself. "It's kind of like finding your true love, there's someone out there for you, just have to find them."

"Exactly my dear, you got it. Perhaps this will one will fare better, Aspen, 9 ½ inches, rather stiff." Mr Ollivander handed her another wand. A quick wave later, the wand in question flew out of Amber's hand, and lodged itself into the roof.

"I guess not then." Mr Ollivander said, as they all stared at the ceiling.

About 10 minutes later, a handful of tears, and broken shop window. Amber finally had her very own wand. "Sycamore, 10 ¾ inches, surprisingly swishy" Was how Mr Ollivander called it. Amber absolutely adored it.

Casey couldn't be happier for the girl. It was certainly amusing to watch all of the strange things happen, when Amber was passed each new wand. Casey was looking forward for his chance, to do the same.

"And now for the wizard!" Mr Ollivander 's measuring tape rose from his pocket once again, and began measuring Casey's right arm. "From watching you earlier I assume your wand arm is your right one yes?"

"Yes sir." Casey replied. He still felt a little uncomfortable with some of Mr Oleander's observations, but he decided to push it away, and focus on getting his new wand.

"Here we go my boy try this, Apple, 10 inches, Supple." Having seen Amber go through the same experience, Casey knew exactly what to do, and gave the wand a quick flick. Nothing happen at first, and then everyone in store realised, that there was a smell of burnt toast in the air. Casey placed the wand back down on the counter. "Burnt toast! How interesting!"

An hour later, it was Amber who asked the question that was on Casey's mind, but was too nervous to say it. "Um… Mr Ollivander , I have question."

"Yes my girl! Ask away, ask away." Mr Ollivander answered, whilst taking yet another failed wand, from Casey's figure tips.

"Whenever you handed CJ or I a wand, you gave us its length, wood type, and… flexibility? Why is that important?"

Mr Ollivander was a little surprised, that such a question had come from an 11 year old, but answered her query none the less. "As I mentioned earlier Amber, every Wand is unique. A Wands, core, wood type, length, and flexibility are defining all traits, and each trait has certain characteristics. For example, Ash wands tend to be fairly stubborn, a similar trait that is also shared by wands that are Unyielding."

Most of what Mr Ollivander was saying, went way over Casey's head, but Amber seemed to be hanging on his every word. He continued to lecture Amber on different wand characteristics, all the while still attending to Casey. He even heard Mr Ollivander say to Amber: "Yes, I do believe your new wand will suit you quite well." After she answered a wand related question, that Mr Ollivander threw back at her.

Casey was starting to wonder, whether not or he was going to find a wand that suited him. He was quite sure that they had tried over 100 wands so far, and Miss Saffron had even come in at one point to check on them.

It was around the 3 hour mark, when Mr Ollivander suggested they should sit down, for a quick break. Both Casey and Amber were thankful for it, and even though Casey insisted Amber could go home, if she wanted. Amber refused to leave until he had his wand as well. "You sat through me getting mine, so I am going to watch you get yours."

Whipping out his own wand, Mr Ollivander conjured 3 chairs, and brought out some tea and biscuits. "Help yourself."

"Thank you Sir." Both kids said in unison, right before they reached for some biscuits.

"Quite alright, quite alright."

"Mr Ollivander sir, what's the longest amount of time it has taken you to find a wand for someone?" The concern seemed to be written all over Casey's face.

"It takes as long as it takes my boy, you just need to patient. Worry not we _will_ find your wand." It was like Mr Ollivander was reading his mind. "But to answer your question, I believe the longest it's taken me to find a wand for someone, was about 2 and a half days. We tried well over a thousand different wands, before we found the right fit. Mapel, 15 ½ inches, Unbending, I believe."

Both Amber and Casey were shocked.

2 Days! That was nuts. It also made Casey feel kinda bad, that there were some other witches and wizards in Diagon Alley, who were waiting for him to finish, but Mr Ollivander was adamant, he wouldn't serve anyone else until he was done with him.

Casey was also surprised, that Amber had actually managed to sit through everything. She kept saying that: "Every wand Mr Ollivander brings out is fascinating." She seemed to have a real appreciation for wands now, not just her own.

Amber shared a little about her past, and Casey couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl, when she talked about her mother. Mr Ollivander even supplied what kind of wand Amber's mother had. "Willow, 11 inches, Brittle. A perfect wand for healing".

Casey wanted to supply more about his past, but it was difficult to talk about his friends and family. Casey instead, settled on talking about how he was looking forward to the opportunities Hogwarts presented.

Whilst they were waiting for Mr Ollivander to come back from the bathroom, Amber got up and stood behind Casey. She then started running her fingers through his hair.

"What are you doing Amber?" Casey questioned.

"Nothing, just got some fluff in you hair." Amber said casually. She started pseudo brushing his hair with her fingers, as a way to remove the fluff. "I love dark hair. I wish mine was like yours."

"I'd prefer lighter to be honest."

"I'd swap if we could." Amber giggled.

"I wonder? Yes! That might be it! I've been going about this all wrong! All wrong I say!" Mr Ollivander ranted. He milled around the back of the shop for a moment, before he came back to the front, smiling with a wand in hand.

"Please don't stop on my account." Mr Ollivander said gesturing to Amber, who had briefly paused what she was doing. "Here we are, why don't we try this one."

Mr Ollivander placed a pitch black wand in Casey's hand. He could feel a thin spiral wind its way around the length, and slight warmth emitted from the wand core. Lifting his hand Casey gave the wand a flick. But nothing happened… or so he thought.

For the briefest moment, Casey thought about placing the wand back down on the table, to try again, but his attention was drawn upwards. A shining black feather slowly descended from the ceiling, and landed softly in his lap; illuminated by a soft glow.

"I believe we have a match!" Mr Ollivander exclaimed. But before Casey could get a word out, Amber wrapped him up in a huge hug from behind.

"Wow! That was amazing! I haven't seen magic as pretty as that before."

"Curious indeed, but then the wand does choose the witch or wizard. So who am I to argue? Ebony, 13 ¼ inches. Quite flexible." Mr Ollivander gave Casey a smile as he said those words, then returned to behind the counter, to write them up. "I think you will both find, that as you grow, your wands and magic will grow with you. Be honest with yourself, and your wands won't lead you astray. Look after them; they are a partner for life."

After paying Ollivander 7 galleons each, both Casey and Amber left the store with a big smile on their faces. As expected, a line had formed outside the store, which made Casey feel a little guilty, for spending over three hours in the store.

Amber's Cousin and Dad, plus Casey's parents, all stood opposite Ollivander's waiting for their charges. Casey was at least a little happy, that his parents weren't yelling at people anymore. Hopefully things wouldn't go pear shaped now that he was back.

"Hey there kids, get your wands okay?" Mr McKinnon asked.

Both kids answered his question, by holding up their new wands.

"I still can't believe it takes 3 hours, to purchase what's little more than a stick. It doesn't seem right to me." Mr Jands fumed.

"Now Mr Jands' we went over this." Saffron sternly reminded him. "Wands are tools we use to help control our magic. Otherwise it goes haywire and affects everything around us. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing, to sacrifice a few hours, to insure that incidents, like for instance; what you told us happened last summer, happen again."

After spending the afternoon with Mr Ollivander , Casey knew that wasn't exactly the truth, but reasoned that it would be good enough to tell his parents, so that they don't do something foolish. Like take away his new wand, whilst he was asleep.

"What happened last summer?" Amber whispered to Casey.

"I'll tell you later" Casey replied with an eye roll.

The uncomfortable silence was eventually ended by Mr McKinnon again, who suggested that they had had enough excitement for one day. It was a sentiment that everyone agreed with, especially Casey's parents.

As both families began parting ways, Saffron suggested that it might be a good idea for the Jands, to meet up with them, before heading to King's Cross station on Sunday. Stating that: "Finding platform 9 nine and three quarters, can be tricky."

With a plan set Casey gave Amber one last hug. "Thanks for everything today, I really mean it. You saved me."

"No problem, I guess." A huge blush had taken over Amber's face.

"See you Sunday?"

"Definitely!"

Casey headed away from Amber, with a smile upon his face. After all, Hogwarts didn't seem so scary, now that he had a friend to go there with.


	5. Chapter 5: All Aboard

**Chapter Five: All Aboard**

Even though it was lightly raining, no one could wipe the smile that sat on Amber and Casey's faces, when they arrived at King's Cross Station. It was positively contagious, and many other commuters smiled at the two kids, as they waved happily back at them. They brighten up quite a few mornings, on such a miserable day.

Amber walked with her arms interlocked with Saffron's, while the older witch guided them through the hustle bustle of Kings Cross. The trolleys with their Trunks, were being pushed by their Dads, who walked a few paces behind.

Unfortunately - or fortunately depending on your point of view - Casey's Mum had not joined the group. She had commitments that morning, which she had refused to abandon, thus leaving Casey's Dad, to take him into London alone. The two families had meet up, in a small Café near the station, just before 9am, to have a light breakfast. Amber had taken the opportunity to fill in her friend, on everything she knew about Hogwarts, which was only occasionally, corrected by her cousin.

It was Saffron who spoke up, when they came to a stop, in front of a brick wall. "Here we are."

Needless to say everyone was quite confused, including Mr McKinnon, who had a look on his face that said: 'Oh, this'll be good'.

"We're here?" Amber asked uncertainly.

"Yup."

"So… where's the platform?"

"Right there." Saffron pointed straight at the brick wall between platforms nine and ten.

Amber turned to see her Dad laughing. "Because of course it is."

Evidently this was also something new for her Dad as well.

Saffron quickly took charge, and ordered both the young witch and wizard, to help their Dads push the trolleys. "All you need to do, is when I give you the signal, is to head straight at the wall between platforms 9 and 10. Don't worry, you won't crash, you'll pass straight through. Most witches and wizards say to do it at a run, on your first time."

"You can't expect us to believe that can you? That's preposterous." Mr Jands challenged. Casey groaned and moved a little away from his Dad.

"Well then, why don't we go first so you can see for yourself? Ready, Amber?" Amber meekly nodded at her Dad. She was really nervous about this, but thinking back to the first time she travelled by Portkey, she quickly got her nerves under control. When Saffron gave the signal, she ran at the wall with her Dad.

Amber knew she was taking a train to Hogwarts, but that still didn't prepare her for the chaos that was displayed in front of her, when she passed through the barrier onto Platform nine and three quarters.

A scarlet red steam engine stood idling next to the platform, and various students boarded the carriages, all jostling to find their friends from previous years. Various cages, trunks, and belongings, were being loaded on the luggage carts towards the back. Amber even noticed that some students were taking their pets onto the train, so as to save them from ridding in the back. Amber made note to make sure she did this Nocturne.

Moments later Casey, Mr Jands, and Saffron came up behind her. Casey it seems was taking in the sight of the station as well.

"It's not natural that." Mr Jands said from behind them. He looked like he was about to pass out.

"You did quite well Mr Jands, most Muggles faint their first time, I am impressed." Saffron said. "We need to hurry up, we are running a little late. The Hogwarts Express leaves at exactly 11 o'clock, and we have less than 5 minutes to get these two onto the train."

Saffron hurried and pushed the group along, even whipping out her wand to help load the trunks onto the Train. Amber made sure to grab Nocturne's cage, before things started to get levitated around, with Saffron giving her a knowing look.

Amber and Casey barely got onto the train in time, before it started to move away from the platform, and both kids waved goodbye to their relatives.

The train was packed. Various students were only just now forming into their little groups, and moving into the compartments. Amber and Casey walked up and down the entire train twice, looking for an empty compartment so they could talk, but everywhere was full.

"This train is packed!" Casey complained for the 12th time, just as he nearly got flattened by a 5th year. "We're never going to find a seat."

"Hey, why don't we go in here? There's only one girl, although she does look kind of sad, maybe that's why she's alone." Amber offered.

"Or maybe she could be really mean and be scaring everyone off." Casey whispered back. They spied the darker skinned girl curled up in a thick woollen blanket, staring out of the window. You could see her freckles in the reflection off the carriage window.

"I don't think she'll be that bad, you were really nice when we first meet at Flourish and Blotts. She's probably just lonely. Besides, she looks about our age, so she's likely a first year, we should say hi."

Before Casey could offer a retort, Amber had pushed Nocturnes cage into his arms and lightly knocked on the door to the compartment; opening it after she did so. "Hi, do you mind if we sit with you? Most of the other compartments on the train are full."

The girl barely looked at them before turning back to the window. "Knock yourself out." The sadness in her voice stung Amber like a bee.

Amber pulled Casey into the compartment, and closed the door. After receiving Nocturne back, she let him out of his cage so she could stroke his feathers, before turning back to address the elephant in the room.

"So my names Amber McKinnon and this is Casey Jands, but CJ is easier to remember, so, just stick with that," Upon hearing his name Casey gave an awkward little wave, but the girl opposite them seemed disinterested. "So ahh… I noticed you have a bit of an accent, where you from? I'm from Canada myself, but I was born here in Britain."

Amber hoped that offering that she was not from Britain, would help ease the tension.

"Sydney." Was the curt reply.

"Sydney?" Amber was trying to piece her geography lesson from grade school back together. Thankfully she didn't have to as Casey came to the rescue.

"That's in Australia right?" Casey confirmed.

A long sigh escaped the girl's lips. "Yeah. It is."

Clearly this girl was home sick. She was a long way from where she called home, further than even Amber. But as Amber thought about it, she realised that although she thought of McKinnon house as her home now too, through all of the excitement of meeting Saffron and going to Hogwarts, she didn't realise how much of Nova Scotia she missed. She missed her spot down by the shore, she missed the cute little milk bar on the corner, and she missed cool wind blowing off the water. For the first time in since she left, Amber felt a little home sick.

"Sorry for bringing the mood down." Amber said.

"Its fine." The Aussie girl replied, even though Amber knew it wasn't really.

Shifting uncomfortably next to her, Amber was proud that Casey had a little bit of courage to keep the conversation going.

"So um, you never did tell us your name you know." Casey asked.

"I guess not." The Aussie girl remarked, still looking out of the window. "It's Lizza Karoonda."

Amber noticed Lizza stiffen as she said her name, as if she was expecting some sort of reply ,and seemed surprised when Casey simply respond with, "That's a cool name."

Amber thought she knew the answer to her question, but decided to ask it anyway. "So, are you looking forward to going to Hogwarts? What house do you think you'll get into?"

"Not really, and I don't know what the houses are, so I can't answer you second question." Lizza shivered as she finished her sentence, and pulled out curved wand, pointing it at her blanket. _"Thermos."_

Amber watched with excitement as the witch in front of her performed the spell. She noticed that it had gotten slightly warmer.

"Cool spell, well warm spell really. Did you learn that back home?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, Aunty taught it too me before I left. She said that it'll help me deal with the quote: 'shitouse British weather'."

Amber giggled at the girl's remark. "It's not that cold today though, even if it rained a bit this morning, it's only what, 15 Degrees today?"

"Way too cold." Was the response they got from Lizza, who proceeded to rug herself up some more.

"So you said you didn't know about the Houses? Would you like me to explain it to you?" Amber offered. All she got in response was a shrug.

"Um, I'd like to know." Casey said piping up beside her.

"Didn't I explain all this at breakfast?"

"Ah, No… you didn't really let me get a word in to ask." This caused Amber to blush.

"Yes… well… um, I guess it a good thing I didn't. otherwise you'd be hearing it twice." Casey responded by rolling his eyes.

"So when a student first comes to Hogwarts, they get sorted into one of four Houses. They are Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each of the 4 Houses is named after one of the founding members of Hogwarts, and each one has traits reflecting them," Amber said feeling perhaps a little smarter than she actually was.

"So Gryffindor 's are supposed to be really brave, Ravenclaw's are super smart, and Slytherin is where a lot of the pure blood witches and wizards go. My cousin says that's apparently not so much the case anymore, and it's more about ambition, so I don't really know. Oh, and Hufflepuff is where everyone who doesn't fit into the other 3 houses end up. Saffron thinks I'll end up in Ravenclaw on account of my ability to just pick things up, but my Dad says I might end up in Hufflepuff like my Mum. I'm not really fused. So, what do you two think?"

She could see both Casey and Lizza were thinking about where they'll end up. And Lizza in particular seemed deep in thought.

Casey answered first. "A lot of the Magic stuff still confuses me, so likely not Ravenclaw, and my parents are Muggles so probably not Slytherin. Not to mention my folks still terrify me, so that rules Gryffindor out. I guess I'll probably end up in Hufflepuff?"

"Lizza?"

"Hmmmm….I don't really know to be honest; I'd likely be in Orroroo Homestead back home. But for Hogwarts, I guess, Slytherin? If the thing about blood status is anything to go by, most of my family are Indigenous."

"That's so COOL! Do you like know any special Australian magic, or anything?" Amber asked, her interest piqued.

"No," Lizza sighed. "I would have got to learn some, if I had of got to go to school back home. But my Mum was adamant, that I was to go to Hogwarts like she did."

Tears threatened to fall from Lizza's eyes. "I wish I was home."

Amber couldn't help but get up and give the poor girl a hug.

"Hey don't cry." Amber comforted. "It was really stupid thing for me to bring it up. I'm sorry."

"I'm not crying." Lizza half-heartedly snapped back.

"You really need to learn some more tact Amber." Casey said. Amber responded by sticking her tongue out.

The rest of the trip to Hogwarts had been relatively uninteresting. The conversation pretty much stopped once Casey gave his little quip, and Amber just sat next to Lizza in silence; comforting her by just being there. Even Nocturne tried to help ease Lizza's suffering by landing on her lap whilst the girl stroked his feathers.

Eventually a Prefect came by and informed them they were nearing the school and that they should change into their robes. With both girls kicking out a pretty miffed Casey whilst they changed.

Their arrival at Hogsmeade station though seemed to have sense of finality for Lizza and just 5 steps after disembarking off the train all the bottled up feelings she had been carrying with her finally gave way. Amber barely had time to catch Lizza when she collapsed unceremoniously onto the ground. The tears she had been so desperately trying to keep at bay broke free and they cascaded down her cheeks onto the floor.

"Is every 'fing okay 'ere." A gruffly voice asked. Amber who was comforting Lizza as best she could looked up and saw a great big man with a scraggly beard looking down at her.

"Um, yes, I think so? The train ride to Hogwarts was a bit much for her."

"It's okay, we'll take care of her." Casey offered. He was currently rubbing Lizza's giant of a man, crouched down to Lizza's eye level, and lifted her chin with his massive fingers.

"Ello', my names Hagrid, tink yah can 'ake it to the boats?" Hagrid asked kindly, only to receive an inaudible reply from Lizza. "Up ye' come then."

The giant scooped Lizza up in his great big arms, and carried her off towards the boats, with her crying quietly into his beard.

When they got to the boats, Hagrid eased Lizza gently into one of seats, whilst Amber and Casey climbed in after her. As soon as Amber sat down, Lizza rested her head on her Amber's shoulder. Her tears had stopped, but her face still told that she was crying on the inside.

"You two look aftar' her, alright." Hagrid ordered. Amber and Casey nodded in agreement.

Amber will forever remember the boat trip to Hogwarts, and she imagined all the other students around her would too, even if for some of them - such as Lizza - it was for the wrong reasons.

The sight of the Castle when they turned the bend, stole Amber's breath away. Although Amber could hear audible gasps from the other boats, Lizza however, remained silent, opting instead to stare motionlessly at the castle. Amber hoped her homesickness, would pass sooner, rather than later.

Once they arrived at the boathouse, it was only a short walk up the stairs, before they reached the interior of the Castle. Professor Flitwick was waiting for them, just outside the giant oak doors of the great hall.

"Hello first years, and welcome to Hogwarts." The Professor announced to the group, silencing it quickly. Amber noticed that he was standing on a small wooden box ,so that he could be seen by all of the students.

"Now I know you all excited for the sorting ceremony, but I do need to explain a few things before we enter the great hall. For those of you that don't know, we have 4 Houses here at Hogwarts. When you do well in your classes, you earn you earn your house points, break any rules, and you'll lose them points. At the end of the school year we tally up the points, and the house that has earned the most points, wins the House Cup." The Professor finished his introduction, and started to unroll a parchment in his hands.

"Um… Professor?" A girl asked from the back.

"Yes, you have a question."

"Y...Yes, You didn't tell us the names of the houses." The question invoked a round of giggles.

"Oh…. Yes, quite right." The Professor said, clearly embarrassed by his omission. "Ahem, they are Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Slytherin."

A small knock was heard from the giant oak doors in front of them, and Professor Flitwick straightened himself up. "Right… well come along first years." Professor Flitwick hopped down off his perch, and led the group through the doors and into the great hall.

Four tables stretched down the centre of the hall, with students packed around them. The ceiling opened up to the night sky above, and candles hovered over the students heads, enchanted by magic. As they walked down central aisle to the front of the hall, Amber felt Lizza grip her arm tightly.

"Hey, it'll be okay." Amber whispered to the girl, although she could start to feel her own nervousness, starting to rise.

"Are you nervous?" Casey whispered into her ear.

"What do you think?"

"I figured if any of us here wouldn't be nervous it would be you." Casey reasoned.

"Yeah well I am okay."

"Why do they have to do the sorting in front of the whole school? Everyone is staring at us, and it's making me even more jittery."

"CJ." Amber gritted through her teeth.

"What?"

"Shut up." Amber nodded towards Lizza.

"Oh, sorry." Casey apologised to the pair.

"Who's the tactless one now?" This time Casey was smart enough to not answer that question.

Both Amber and Casey had been so caught up in their little world, that they didn't even notice that the Sorting Hat had finished his song, and begun the sorting process. The cry of "Ravenclaw!" Followed by the round of applause, had startled them both, as Noah Abanel was sorted into that very house.

There were 37 students in their year, and they were just under half way through, when they finally reached the J's with Casey's name being called. Amber gave her friend's hand a quick squeeze, before he nervously walked up to the stool, and Professor Flitwick levitated the Sorting Hat onto his head.

Fortunately for Casey, his sorting didn't last too long. A full 10 seconds after the hat reached the boy's head, he raced down the steps and joined the rest of the members of Hufflepuff House. Amber couldn't be happier for her friend. as Hufflepuff was a great house, so she joined in on the applause.

Amber knew that Lizza was likely to either be next, or the one after, with a surname starting with 'K'. Therefore Amber was particularly surprised, when she heard the name Professor Flitwick had just called out.

"Amber McKinnon."

Amber stood there transfixed, trying to decipher what she had just heard. Stealing a glance at Lizza, who looked just as confused as she did, Amber gave her new friend an apologetic smile, before she left the girl's side for the first time since they meet on the train. Lizza looked she would break down again, but thankfully, she kept her nerve. Amber strode up to the stool, taking the seat, and Professor Flitwick dropped the hat on her head.

 _"Ah, a McKinnon, haven't had one of you in a while."_

Amber let out a small yelp, when she heard the Sorting Hat talking in her head.

 _"You can hear my thoughts?"_ Amber queried.

 _"Yes of course, Rowena's magic is quite powerful, and before you ask, No. No one else can hear our conversation."_

This made Amber relax somewhat, though she still found it strange that Hat was talking to her in her head. She would be sending a strongly worded letter to her Cousin, when she next got the chance, Saffron failed to mention this aspect of the Sorting Hat.

 _"Hmmmm… You are a difficult one, tricky you will be to place…Your thirst for Magical knowledge is impressive, Ravenclaw will make good use of you. And the Bravery you showed standing up to your father, would even make the Lion's proud. After all, standing up to family, is much harder than standing up to your enemies, but you would know all about that, wouldn't you?"_

 _"Wait! You can look into my memories as well? Keep out! Those are private!"_

 _"Quiet! Your thoughts are noisy, it's hard to think."_

 _"But…But you're in_ MY _head!"_ Amber challenged.

 _"Do you want to be sorted or not?"_ The Hat replied, this promptly shut amber up. All anyone else in the great hall saw, was the girl cross her arms and huff. _"You're thinking of your Mother yes?"_

 _"You can read my thoughts, you already know the answer."_ Amber snapped.

 _"The answer is No; I did not have this kind of trouble with your Mum, though if you wish to succeed like she did, then the House of Snakes will guide you best."_

 _"But my Mum wasn't in Slytherin."_

 _"Hmmmm… maybe that is it… If Rowena, Godric and Salazar all vie for you equally, then then perhaps that means…"_

"…Hufflepuff!" The Hat shouted.

The relief that washed over Amber, was instantaneous. Her mother after all was in Hufflepuff, she couldn't think of a better house to be in.

It wasn't until she went to sit down at the table, and made eye contact with Casey - who was clapping wildly- that she remembered that her friend had also been sorted into her house. The two quickly congratulated each other, and sat back down.

As the Sorting wore on, one by one, the other 1st years were slowly placed into their respective houses, until one lone student was left. Lizza stood alone, at the front of the great hall, looking very nervous and very scared. Amber desperately wanted go up and give her friend a hug, but she knew better than to leave her seat.

Slowly, murmurs started to fill the great hall, as Professor Flitwick eye's scanned up and down the parchment, looking for the name of the 1st year he missed.

"I'm sorry, what's your name dear." The Professor asked uncertainly.

The giggles, (and some out right laughs), could be heard among the hall, as Professor Flitwick asked for Lizza's name. The humour of a student being forgotten by a teacher, was clearly amusing. Amber meanwhile, felt like punching something.

"Lizza Karoonda." The girl spoke, just barely loud enough for her voice to carry to Professor Flitwick; the distinct inflection of her Australian accent was evident. Most of the giggles were quickly converted into whispers, the second the words left the girl's lips.

"Karoonda, Karoonda…" Professor Flitwick uttered. He searched up and down the parchment for her name, to no avail. Amber could see that Lizza's anxiety was building to the point of breaking, and the newly christened Hufflepuff was about to say something, before another voice spoke up.

"Professor Flitwick, Karoonda starts with a K, not a C." You could hear Headmistress McGonagall, from anywhere in the room, she was not amused.

"Oh yes, of course." The Professor muttered. He soon found Lizza's name, and ticked her off the list, much to her relief. "Sorry, Miss Karoonda, if you please."

It clearly wasn't Lizza's day, though Amber blamed the Professor for the poor girl's latest trial. She wasn't the first person on the list that the Professor had accidently skipped, and quickly doubled back to. Melanie Shapell and Derek Eastwitch also befallen the same fate. Seriously? How hard was it to cross names off a list in order?

Lizza finally made her way up to the stool, and upon sitting down, Professor Flitwick for the last time tonight, dropped the Sorting Hat onto a first years head. Everyone waited for the result.

And waited.

And waited.

It was around the 4 minute mark that murmurs of a Hatstall, started being thrown around the hall; Amber could only wonder what was being said in the silent conversation she was watching, and knew that everyone else was thinking the same thing, including the staff.

When 5 minutes had fully elapsed, Lizza's sorting was officially a Hatstall and the gossip between students, (and even teachers), had increased tenfold. Even Headmistress McGonagall started to look on intently, when the sorting process eventually elapsed even her, infamous Hatstall.

After an agonising 5 minutes and 53 seconds, the Sorting Hat finally reached a verdict.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The collective sigh of relief echoed through the hall, and the Hufflepuff's erupted into a righteous cheer, when Lizza wearily made her way down to her new Houses table. The poor girl looked as if she had gone through a 3 hour long interrogation. When she finally reached the table, she stumbled onto the bench, at which point Amber embraced her new Housemate.

With the last student sorted, Professor McGonagall stood up from her chair tapping a glass, which instantly silenced the school. "Now that the sorting has finally ended, I'd like to welcome you all to a new year at Hogwarts. Before we get into the announcements, I believe we are all quite hungry, so please enjoy." With a clap from her hands, a feast magically appeared before their eyes.

"Wow." Was the best word Amber could use to describe the array of food, that had just appeared in front of her. It was one that was echoed by Casey as well.

The food was delicious; a sentiment that everyone seemed to agree on, including Lizza, whose mood actually seemed to improve after eating. Amber was just starting to fill up her 2nd plate, when a ghost's head popped up out of the table, and pretended to eat the chicken wing that Amber was currently holding.

The surprise of the ghost's arrival, in addition to the chill that went through her hand when the ghost brushed her fingers, caused her to through her chicken wing high over her head. Landing somewhere behind her on the Slytherin table.

"Sorry to startle you, but your chicken wing looked quite tasty." The ghost said. Amber and the other 1st years could only stare.

"Fat Friar, hello!" Juliet Nightshade greeted. She was one of Hufflepuffs prefects. "1st years let me introduce you to Hufflepuffs house ghost, the Fat Friar. If you ever need help finding one of your classes, or if you have a request for lunch, just ask our house ghost. Fat Friar let me introduce our newest Hufflepuffs."

Some of the 1st years managed to piece together some form of hello, but most, like Amber, merely smiled and waved.

"Pleasure to meet you all and please do Hufflepuff proud!" The Fat Friar said before he glided off down the table pretending to eat the food off other student's plates.

"He's one of the nicest ghosts, the Fat Friar, but make sure you don't bring up churches or his rank, he's quite a bit miffed he wasn't made a Cardinal when he was alive. So unless you want to hear him ramble on about it for a while, I wouldn't bring it up." Juliet informed them. Amber made sure she committed that to memory.

As the feast started to wrap up, all of their plates, disappeared and a mouth-watering dessert took its place. Amber enjoyed getting to know the other Hufflepuff's, though she was quite surprised that only two girls were sorted in there house; her and Lizza were grossly outnumbered by the seven boys.

When after dessert was nearly finished, Professor McGonagall, got up and approached the lectern at the front of the teacher's dais.

"Good evening students." Professor McGonagall said, ending all conversations. "Before I send you all back to your houses, I'd like to first make a few announcements. As always, the Forbidden Forest, has, and always will be, strictly out of bounds to all students, no exceptions."

The Headmistress gave a few boys towards the back of the Gryffindor table a stern glare, to which they shied away from.

"Professor Hagrid and Professor Sprout have both asked me to inform you, that the pumpkin patch, and the area around the shores of the great lake, have been infested by Fire Berry Vines. As such, these areas will hereby be considered, Out of Bounds, until further notice. Any student caught in the vicinity will be punished appropriately." A lot of students in the great hall murmured a bit at this, Amber heard Juliet Nightshade utter, 'strange', under her breath before Professor McGonagall contained her address.

"Lastly, we have one change to our staff this year. Professor Zulander has decided to take some long service leave until January next year, to celebrate his 30th wedding anniversary, thus leaving us without a Defence against the Dark Arts teacher for a few months. It is with great pride and joy, that I introduce former Auror, ex-student, and our substitute Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Longbottom." A big round of applause sounded throughout the school, as Professor Longbottom stood up and waved. The applause was particularly loud from the Gryffindor table; which even had a few members standing up.

"Thank you Professor, and welcome back to Hogwarts. Now that the announcements have been taken care of, prefects can you please gather up your 1st years, and lead them to your houses. Once the first years have left the hall, everyone else may leave for their dormitories. Dismissed." And just like that, the feast was over.

Amber followed Juliet out of the Great hall, with the other 1st years from her house. Amber made sure to pay attention to the route they were taking, to get to the Hufflepuff dormitories, reminding Casey to do the same. They twisted and turned their way through the Castle, and Amber found, she struggled to keep up with all the things constantly being pointed out to her.

"And here we are." Juliet stopped in front of a pile of large barrels, stacked on their sides. They took up the entire wall, of the dead end the group had just turned into. "Now the firsties, just behind me is the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room, but before we go in, I need to go over a few things."

Oakley Bones one of the boys towards the back, piped up. "I thought the Hufflepuff common room was behind the portrait of the Fruit bowl over there?" Oakley pointed towards the portrait.

"Why don't you go find out if you are so smart?" Juliet said with a massive smirk on her face.

The boy cautiously walked over to the portrait, and looked at it intently.

"I heard a rumour that Pear was the way in."

Tickling the pear the portrait swung open to reveal the Hogwarts kitchen, causing the house elves inside to become startled, with head elf snapping his fingers, making the portal to snap closed. If one was listening closely, they would have heard him say, 'pesky first years', before he it shut. The wind from the closing portrait, ruffled Bones' hair, and the other Hufflepuff's laughed at his misstep.

"Contrary to popular belief, the Hufflepuff common room is not behind that portrait. Though I will admit, us Hufflepuff's have done nothing to help clear up the rumour. It helps to keep the other houses guessing, which plays to our advantage." The 1st years all agreed that it was a smart idea. The demonstration by Oakley showed it clearly worked.

"The real entrance to our Common Room is right here," Juliet continued. "It's the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row. You also need to knock on the barrel in the tune to Helga Hufflepuff, or you won't be able to get in."

To demonstrate she clapped the tune and had the 1st years clap it back to her.

"Last thing you need to know about getting in, is what happens if you mess up." Motioning for the students under her care to step back, Juliet grabbed a nearby mop and then transfigured the handle to triple in length. Juliet tapped the barrel in the bottom left corner a random number of times, causing a barrel above, to drench to would be victim in vinegar. Amber was glad they had taken a step back.

"Tap the wrong barrel, or tap the tune incorrectly, and you'll be doused in the Vinegar, that's why we always have a mop handy out here." Tapping the mop with her wand, Juliet returned it to its normal size, and charmed it to clean the mess up all by itself. "Well let's head inside where it's warm, shall we?"

Knocking on the correct barrel, with the correct tune, the lid swung open revealing the Common Room. Amber's first impression of the Hufflepuff common room was homely. The room was decorated in cheery yellow's and black's, with various honey coloured wooden tables to study on. Lastly, the entrance to the girls and boys dormitories, were framed by round wooden doors, with a handle in the centre.

"This is the Hufflepuff common room, as you can see, Professor Sprout likes to decorate in here with various plants, word of warning though, steer clear of the cacti, they like a hug." Everyone recoiled slightly stepping away from the nearest cacti.

"As much as I can appreciate you all staying up and having a chat, I recommend you all try and get some sleep, as classes start tomorrow morning. The girl's dormitories are on the right and guys you are on the left. Word of warning though boys, as we found out last year, the castle doesn't like it when you lot try and entered the girl's dormitories. Let's just say, there's a lot of vinegar involved."

Confused, the 1st year boys all looked at each other uncertainly. Juliet stifled a yawn, and addressed them one last time. "If you're confused about anything, just ask another Hufflepuff's. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help. Hope you lot enjoy Hogwarts, but I'm off to bed."

Amber grabbed Lizza by the arm and followed Juliet towards the girl's dormitories.

Juliet bade Amber and Lizza good night as they entered their respective dormitories. The warmth that hit Amber's face as she entered their new room, was welcoming. Looking around the room, Amber spied 3 poster beds standing in one of the corners of the room, each with a soft patchwork quilt lain on top of the sheets. A small round door sat to the right of the room leading off to the bathroom, and a small wood fire heater was positioned against the opposite wall. Amber liked the room.

"So…. which bed do you want?" Amber asked.

"Can I have to one closest to the fire?" Lizza asked shyly.

"Sure, I'll take the one furthest away from the window." Amber gave Lizza a quick smile before grabbing her trunk and dragging it over to the foot of her bed. Lizza opted to use her wand instead, much to Amber's annoyance, but she quickly realised as of tomorrow, she would get to start learning how to do the same wondrous things.

"Hey Amber?" Lizza asked not long after they extinguished the lamps to sleep.

"Yeah..." Amber yawned.

"Thanks…. For you know…. Today."

"Anytime Liz".


	6. Chapter 6: Magical Mishaps

**Chapter Six: Magical Mishaps**

Amber had to literally drag Lizza out of bed on Monday morning, so they could make it to breakfast.

Fortunately, they did manage to make it into the hall before all of the bacon had gone. Amber made a mental, note to remind Lizza of this, if she ever struggled to get out of bed again. Bacon it seemed, was a particularly good motivator.

Halfway through breakfast, owls descended into the hall, raining packages and letters down to all of the students bellow. Amber's heart soared, when she saw Nocturne enter the room and land in front of her.

"You got mail on your first day? Most parents only write to their 1st year kids, after, they have found out what house they are in. Wonder how yours know already?" Juliet commented, whilst she looked over Amber's shoulder.

Amber glared at Juliet, and then pulled her letter back to her chest, noticing that a small pin of a Badger had fallen out it. She fingered the pin in her palm whilst she read the letter.

Dear Amber,

Congratulations on making it into Hufflepuff!

Your Father and I are very proud of you, and I know your Mum would be too… if she was still here. We were both in Hufflepuff, so it's cool to see you carry on the tradition.

I've included one of my old pins, that my Mum gave me when I was sorted into Hufflepuff, (it's been in the family for generations). So I thought it'd be nice for you to have it.

If you ever feel overwhelmed or sad just hold onto that pin, and your family will always be there right beside you.

Enjoy your first day at Hogwarts, listen to your teachers, and remember to steer clear of Peeves.

Love,

Saffron and Dad.

Amber couldn't help but smile when she read the letter. She ended pinned Saffron's gift to the inside of her robes, giggling to herself at the silliness of it.

"Hey Juliet who's Peeves?" Amber asked curiously, taking the elder girl away from her other conversation.

"How can you not know who Peeves is?" Juliet said shocked.

"First time at Hogwarts remember."

"Oh right," Juliet mused. "Well Peeves is a particularly troublesome poltergeist. He likes pulling pranks and generally messing up the order of things around here. Word of warning, he likes hitting 1st years on their first day of school with water bombs, so, be ready for that."

"Wow, okay then, I'll try and steer clear of him."

"Good luck with that. He hasn't failed to hit a 1st year yet."

"Great…." Amber sighed, before remembering to ask Juliet one last thing. "Juliet you wouldn't happen to have some pen and paper do you?"

Juliet snorted. "Jeez, you really are a Muggle born. We don't do Pen and paper at Hogwarts. It's all Quills and Parchment."

"Actually, my Mum was a witch." Amber retorted.

"Really? Huh, the more you know. You better learn fast though, if you don't know basic stuff like that, people are going to think you're a Muggle born and not a half blood." Juliet charmed some parchment and a quill from down the table, and handed it off to Amber.

"Why does that matter?" Amber asked.

"I guess it doesn't?" Juliet said uncertainly. "Well, at least not to me anyway."

Amber ignored Juliet, setting out the parchment before her, Amber quickly wrote a reply to her cousin and Dad.

Dear Saffron and Dad,

Thank you so much for the Pin, I'll be wearing it every day!

I am really happy I got into Hufflepuff, the common room is so cozy and warm.

I'm not sure if Casey has a way of contacting home, (not that his parents will care anyhow), but Casey got into Hufflepuff too! We are so glad we are in the same house.

We also have a new friend Liz, she's from Australia though she seems kinda homesick. I'm making it my mission whilst she's at Hogwarts to try and cheer her up.

Look forward to hearing from you, I'll do my best in class, and I'll make sure to stay away from Peeves.

Love,

Amber

P.S. By the way Saffron. WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE SORTING HAT! That thing talking in my head creped me the hell out, it's so invasive. Liz thinks so too. She says that's not how they do the sorting back in Australia.

P.P.S. Also how did you find out I was in Hufflepuff already? I was only sorted last night.

Once Amber had sent off her letter, the girl's joined up with Casey and made their way to their first class of the day; Potions, with Professor Slughorn and the Ravenclaws. Amber was a little disappointed she had Potions first, as she really wanted her 1st class to be one where she would get to use her wand. The sentiment was also shared by Casey.

Although Amber headed into Potions with a frown, it soon turned around upside down when Professor Slughorn showed off a few fun potions. One of which allowed a person to breath fire for a short period of time, which Professor Slughorn happily demonstrated to the class, much to awe of the first years.

The actual class however was a little tedious. They sat around cauldrons brewing up salves for Fire Berry burns. Amber had teamed up with Lizza for potions, much to Casey's disappointment, but she promised that she'd pair with him in one of their other classes; which seemed to help improve his mood. Casey was forced to pair up with Noah in the end, who was the odd one out of the Ravenclaws, Amber was happy that they work well together. Turns out Lizza had a natural proficiency for Potion making, and the two breezed through their salve much to Professor Slughorn's delight. He awarded them 5 points along with 2 other Ravenclaws, who had also finished their salve at roughly the same time.

Their last class before lunch was Charms. This was a class that Amber had been most looking forward to, as she heard from other students, that you learnt how to make things fly in Charms. Disappointingly they were not learning that immediately, and after a bit of a rundown on what classifies as a charm, Professor Flitwick instructed them on how to produce a 'Wand Lighting Charm'. A chorus of _"Lumos."_ Rang out through the classroom, as students attempted to light their wands.

Amber and Casey seemed to struggled the most with lighting their wands. Amber was particularly jealous, when Casey managed to light his wand before her, and in frustration she shouted _"LUMOS!"_  
Although she managed to light her wand, the light increased in brightness rapidly, culminating in a bright flash and bang, which not only blinded the class, but showered them in sparks as well.

"A bit more practice is required I think Miss McKinnon, no worries you'll get it eventually." Professor Flitwick tried to console. Amber could hear some of her class mates snickering away on the other side of the room.

"Hey it wasn't that bad, at least yours was the brightest in the class." Casey tried to cheer Amber up. Amber just continued to pick at her sandwich.

"Yeah, and I also showered everyone in sparks, you can still smell the cinder on our robes." Amber groaned.

"Oh… it wasn't that bad, the smell will come out eventually."

"It'll just take a wash… or three" Lizza added as she smelt the hem of her robe. This caused Amber to groan once again and plant her face in the table.

They were getting up from finishing their meal, when Amber got bumped in the back by some passing 1st years, sending her into a fruit bowl, and toppling its contents all over the floor.

"Hey don't stink up the place, _Ember._ " Melanie Shapell teased; she was a particularly nasty Slytherin, who pinched her nose as she walked past.

"I'll give you something to pinch." Amber spat rising from her seat.

"No don't Amber." Lizza grabbed Amber by the sleeve of her robe, trying to get her to sit back down. Amber turned and saw Lizza. Her head was tilted down and the breath of her voice was shallow.

"What's wrong Lizza?"

"It's nothing." Lizza said avoiding eye contact.

"You can tell us Liz, we're your friends." Amber nodded to Casey's statement.

"It's…It's just that ever since I met Melanie on the train, she's been looking for an excuse to give me shit about my accent."

"They bully you about your accent?" Amber turned to face the girl but Lizza continued to look away. "Liz, I am so sorry."

"It's okay, really." Not at all sounding convincing. "It doesn't bother me that much."

"Still doesn't make it right." Casey added.

"It'll blow over if we can keep a low profile," Lizza reasoned, "Come on we got Defence against the Dark Arts next." With Lizza ending the discussion abruptly, the trio got up and made for their next class. Although the conversation had ended, it was not forgotten.

Some of the Muggle born students found Professor Longbottom's name, rather funny, but they quickly realised there was more to their Professor than meets the eye. The students who were apart of the wizarding community, already knew this, and upon their arrival to class, immediately questioned the Professor about his role in the war. This prompted Professor Longbottom to show off his DA coin, coupled with a story from his 5th year.

Professor Longbottom thought that they should start off the year with something a little fun, and after a bit of theory, he had the class line up to try a simple knock back jinx, called _'Flipendo'._ Some of the students thought it would be funny to take cover behind the tables when it was Amber's turn, but decided better of it when Professor Longbottom gave them a stern look.

Once everyone had managed to cast the spell at least once, Professor Longbottom turned the rest of the class into a game. Dividing them all into two teams, he had them play a Wizards game of GHOUL, (which Amber realised was very similar to Muggle version of HORSE), with each team taking it in turns to hit a floating target.

Amber nearly got hit by a one of Melanie's Jinxes that went a bit wide, which she swore was deliberate. It was a sentiment that was shared by Professor Longbottom, who although didn't take points off Slytherin, did however make Melanie sit out for the rest of the game. Nobody tried anything funny after that.

Amber's team sadly lost, but she cheered up a little bit when she realised that all 7 of the Hufflepuff boys where on the other team, netting their house 1 point for each of them.

It was in History of Magic though, that things started to get out of hand.

Professor Binns had to be one of the worst teachers Amber had ever had teach her. He was boring, unenthusiastic, and oblivious to everything that happened in his classroom; also, he was a Ghost. All of which didn't take long for Melanie and Raylea, to also figure out.

They were halfway through their lesson, when Casey let out a small yelp.

"Ouch!" Casey whispered, grabbing the back of his head. "I think something just bit me in the back of the neck."

"Something bit yo…. Oww!" Amber felt something akin to a bee sting, prick her in the back.

Both students heard giggling behind them, and turned to see that Melanie and Raylea smirking to themselves, their wands were drawn discreetly underneath their desk.

"How the hell has Professor Binns not noticed anything?" Amber whispered to Casey, anger evident in her voice. "I'm going to say something."

Just as she was about to raise her hand, Casey grabbed her arm to stop her. "No don't Amber, remember what Liz said? If we bring the teacher into it or we'll never hear the end of it." Gesturing to the Slytherin girls behind them. "Come on no one likes a snitch, besides it's only day one; we have plenty of time to get them back later when we know more spells."

"Okay, fine." Amber wasn't happy about it, but Casey was right. They had barely started their magical education and the two of them so far were hopeless when it came to actually casting spells. The pair of them had only just barely been able to cast a knockback jinx in their previous class, and Amber couldn't even light her wand properly yet. They were still too new to the magical world.

The rest of the class was agony for Amber and Casey. The 2 antagonists took it in turns to fire a jinx at one of them, keeping score between them. Although they both tried to ignore it, the startling nature of the Aculee Jinx kept surprising them; each of them letting out a small gasp or yelp, whenever the spell connected, much to the amusement to those behind them.

After what seemed like an eternity eventually their History of Magic class ended. The relief on Amber's face was only matched by Casey's, and the two were the first ones to have their stuff packed away and out the door. Melanie didn't even have chance to throw out one last jinx.

"That has to of been the most exhausting first day of school _EVER_!" Amber proclaimed, flopping down into one of the Common Room coaches to dry off. They had been water bombed by Peeves as they left dinner.

"It could have been worse." Casey said, only to receive a look from both Amber and Lizza.

"Really? Tell me how being Jinxed throughout fourth period, being the laughing stock of charms class, and being pranked by Peeves at the end of the day, could have gotten any worse."

"Umm…. we could have set fire to our robes like Peterson did in Potions?" That got a bit of a laugh out of the girls. Paul Peterson had accidently dropped an entire vial of Dragon Saliva into his potion. instead of just two drops. This caused the entire caldron to erupt in flames, setting the clumsy boys sleeves ablaze.

"I guess so." Amber replied whilst getting her giggles under control.

"I'm surprised at how much homework we got for our first day of school." Lizza complained.

"It's mostly History homework, with a bit of Charms." Casey replied.

"Yeah but I hardly payed attention in History, that stuff is so boring."

"We'll be fine; we can just get one of the 3rd years or something to help us out if we get stuck. Or maybe even Juliet. Or what about the Fat Friar maybe could point us to a tutor…." Amber continued to think about whom she could get to help from, staring at the far wall as she mumbled to herself. She became so lost in thought, that she didn't even hear Lizza sigh, say goodbye and then leave.

"Where did Lizza go?" Amber asked Casey confused.

"What? How did you not notice her get up? How did you not hear her say goodbye?"

"I…. I was lost in thought okay." Amber said pouting a little. "So where did she go?"

"She said was going to have a shower now since she didn't get to have one this morning, on account of you dragging her out of bed."

"Hey, _she!_ Wouldn't get up by herself. If I hadn't woken her up and literally pulled her sorry ass out of bed, we would have missed breakfast. We were lucky we got to the great hall before all of the bacon was gone." Amber informed.

"So you actually dragged her out of bed!? I thought you were exaggerating." Casey laughed.

"Yeah, well… I _really_ don't think she wanted to go to class this morning." Amber said her voice getting serious. Casey's laughter died as quickly as it came on. "I should probably go check on her."

"You're going to check on her in the shower?" Casey asked skeptically.

"Ergh, get your mind out of the gutter CJ." Amber threw a cushion at the boy. "What I mean is, I heard her crying last night not long after we went to sleep, and I'm pretty sure I saw tear streaks on her face when she came out of the bathroom after Charms."

"Oh," Casey said quietly. "I didn't realise."

"Don't feel bad," Amber said giving her friend a lopsided smile. "Lizza hides it pretty well."

"Yeah, I guess she does." Casey said looking off towards the door to the girls dormitories.

"See you at breakfast?"

"Huh? Yeah of course."

Amber helped Casey up off the coach, and both students made their way towards their respective dormitories. Amber gave Casey one last wave, before she slipped past through the doorway, and towards the room she shared with Lizza.


	7. Chapter 7: School Yard Skirmish

**Chapter Seven: School Yard skirmish**

Life at Hogwarts quickly settled into a routine, for Amber and her friends. Pay attention in class, keep on top of homework, and don't forget to sleep or eat. Although this seemed easy enough, once you factored in the unpredictable nature of the castle, and the fact that Amber found herself constantly dodging bullies, such as Melanie. Things started to quickly become quite difficult.

Nonetheless, Amber forged on diligently.

She found early on, that although she had a really good grasps of magical concepts - frequently getting 90% or higher on any written tests- the problem was, Amber was absolutely hopeless when it came to actually casting spells. Her attempts at using magic, normally backfired, and showered anyone in the vicinity with sparks.

After 4 weeks of school, the spell that frustrated Amber the most, was still the wand lighting charm _'Lumos'_. Whenever she tried to cast the spell, the light on the tip of her wand would increase in intensity, until it overloaded. Professor Flitwick was puzzled. Even with Amber's precise wand movements and near perfect annunciation, the longest she could keep the spell stable, was only for a few seconds. In the end. Professor Flitwick summed it up as a concentration issue, though that didn't help Amber's mood.

Amber's inability, to successfully execute even the simplest of spells. put her in a funk. A funk that followed her not just to her classes, but pretty much everywhere she went.

"Oh come on Amber, you like score nearly 100% on any tests or assignments we're given, who cares if you can't cast a silly little _'Lumos'_ charm." Casey had spent all week trying to get Amber out of her mood.

"It's not just that," Amber sighed. "It's like, anything practical we do I just suck at. Take this afternoon for instance."

"What about this afternoon?"

"Well you and Liz managed just fine for our first flying lesson, but me, I do the one thing Madam Hooch tells us not to do, and fall off the back of my broom stick." Amber rubbed the newly formed bruise on her thigh, as trio walked back to the castle from the Quidditch pitch.

"Hey, it was our first time on brooms, you can't expect to get it right away." Amber shot Casey a dirty look.

"Easy for you to say, you didn't fall off your broom, or get hit in the head whilst trying to call it to your hand." Amber sulked. "I mean you got your broom to your hand on your 2nd attempt, and Liz called the broom to her without even uttering a word. I felt ridiculous standing next to both of you."

"Yeah how did you do that Liz?" Casey questioned.

"Huh?" The question snapping Lizza out of her daydream.

"How did you manage to call the broom to your hand without saying anything?"

"Oh that, well um, I've kinda been flying since before I could even walk."

"Since before you could walk? Really?" Casey ever the sceptic.

"Actually yes, I nearly killed myself when I was 2, when I accidentally crawled onto my Dad's old broom stick. I thought was a toy, and the moment I hoped onto the broom, it to shoot off through a window. When I fell off I was 'bout 10 meters in the air. My parents thought it would kill me, but when they got outside, they saw me playing with the dog completely unharmed. My parent's then realised I had used Magic to save myself from the fall."

Amber and Casey just started at their friend in disbelief.

"Wow," An awestruck Amber uttered. "That explains your natural flying ability then."

"Ah…. Yeah," Lizza said uncertainly. "Anyway, I wouldn't go comparing yourself to me when it comes to flying."

"I suppose. It's just, I was really looking forward to learning how to fly. I guess seeing you two manage it, or in Lizza's, case breeze through it, just kinda…. made me jealous."

"I can feel that, I felt the sa…."

 _"Locomotor Wibbly!"_

The curse came out of nowhere, and connected with Casey mid-sentence. The momentum of his stride carried him forward, causing him to fall face first the second they entered the Castle. It even caught Amber and Lizza so off guard, that they didn't even have time to grab Casey before he hit the ground.

"Nice curse connection Raylea." Melanie praised.

"Why thank you Melanie, I do try."

Amber was torn between confronting Melanie and Raylea, and helping a groaning Casey. In the end she decided to help Casey, but that didn't stop her from giving Melanie a tongue lashing, whilst doing so. "What the hell do you two think you're doing? What did CJ do to deserve that?"

"That was for him being a stuck up little Mudblood." Raylea spat with disdain.

"And that's justification to ambush someone with a Jelly-Legs curse. We're not even supposed to be casting magic in-between classes."

"Well it's not like you're going to break any rules are you, _Ember_ , you can't cast any spells." Melanie taunted.

"Buzz off Melanie, and drag your useless side kick with you." Lizza was fuming, her wand hung from her side itching for a fight.

"Big words coming from a filthy convict, why don't you go and join Moaning Myrtle in the bathrooms and go cry about home."

Amber was flabbergasted the Slytherin girls were stooping to such a slurs. Lizza stood, shell shocked, staring wide eyed at Melanie, all the while Raylea was laughing her head off.

"Don't listen to them, Liz." Amber pleaded with her friend, praying she wasn't going to do something stupid.

 _"Everte Statum!"_ Quick as a whip, Lizza raised her wand at Melanie, and sent her flying 5 meters across the hall, before Amber or anyone else could stop her.

"You'll pay for that." Raylea shouted pointing her wand at Lizza.

"Try me." Lizza replied levelling her own.

"You can't take us both on Karoonda, it's two on one." Melanie growled pointing her wand at Lizza from the ground. She was starting to recover from the knockback.

"It's two on two." Amber said adding her own wand to the standoff.

"Not like you're going to be of any help." Raylea snorted.

The girls stood half a dozen paces apart, the wands of all 4 witches pointed at each other with vicious intent. Each side daring the other to make the first move.

"GIRLS!" An authoritative voice cut through the silence. "Wands down! Now!"

4 pairs of eyes shot towards to the source of the noise. Professor Hackle marched towards the group, her wand in hand. Gone was her usually cheerful smile. The girls slowly lowered their wands, and stowed them back into their robes, under Professor Hackle's furious gaze.

"Explain." Professor Hackle demanded.

"Well, um, we were walking back from flying lessons, when CJ got hit by a Jelly-Legs curse." Amber squeaked.

"And where is Mr Jands now?" Amber and Lizza step aside to reveal Casey sprawled out on the floor, rubbing the bruise that had now formed on his forehead. Professor Hackle pushed past the duo to attend to Casey. "You 4 stay where you are until I have finished with Mr Jands, and no talking. _Finite."_

"Thank you Professor." Casey shakily replied, once the curse from his legs was lifted, allowing him to stand once again.

"Come here, let me have a look at that bruise Jands." Professor Hackle briefly examined the bruise on the top of his head, before tapping it with her wand, causing the swelling to ease.

"Alright girls," Professor Hackle growled, turning to the witches behind her. "Explain."

"Well as Amber said we were walking back from Flying lessons, when Melanie and Raylea ambushed us and cursed CJ, unprovoked." Lizza said.

"That's not what happened." Melanie cut in.

"Quite Miss Shapell, you and Miss Travers will have an opportunity to give your side of the story in a moment." Professor Hackle said silencing the girl. "Please continue Miss Karoonda."

"So um, after CJ was cursed, Amber and I confronted those two…. Then they turned to name calling…. They called me a filthy convict, Amber their stupid nickname, and Casey a Mudblood." If Professor Hackle's face could become even angrier, it did so after Lizza's comment.

"Is this true girls?"

"No!" Raylea answered. "They left out the part where Karoonda jinxed Melanie, sending her flying across the hallway."

"Miss Karoonda?" Professor Hackle turning her gaze towards her.

"I… I may have sent a small jinx her way." Lizza said whilst looking at the ground.

"Small?" Melanie half shouted. "You sent me half way across the room!"

"Enough girls!" Professor Hackle half shouted. "40 Points will be taken from each of you."

"40 point's _each_!" Amber exclaimed, realising her mistake to late.

"And that's another 5 for back chatting Miss McKinnon. Noble as it was, for Miss Karoonda and yourself to come to your friends defence. There's no acceptable excuse for students to be fighting with one another on school grounds, let alone the fact you all were using magic in the corridors."

"But I didn't cast anything." Melanie butted in again.

The interruption earned Melanie a stern glare from Professor Hackle. "Another 10 from you Miss Shapell, did you not learn Miss McKinnon's lesson? I am truly applauded by your conduct here today. There's absolutely, _NO_ circumstance, that warrant the use of the slurs you and Miss Travers have used this afternoon, and that goes doubly so for the ones you have made towards Mr Jands. Those ideals have already caused one war, that costed the lives of many fine witches and wizards, or have you not seen the memorial on the school grounds?"

Both girls looked down at their feet in shame. Amber could have sworn she could have seen tears form in Raylea's eyes.

"I would have thought that given your families backgrounds, that you both would have would have had better sense then what you have showed here today," Professor Hackle sighing deeply. "The 4 of you will come by my classroom tomorrow evening, _straight,_ after dinner for detention, every minute you are late, you will lose your house a point. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Professor." The young witches replied in unison.

"Alright girls, you may go."

Amber grabbed a dumbfounded Casey by the arm, and led her friends back to the common room, but not before giving Melanie and Raylea one last death glare, before they rounded the corner. A glare, that was returned in kind.

By the end of dinner the next day, word had spread throughout Hufflepuff of the 85 points that Amber and Lizza had costed them. As such, they were getting the cold shoulder from the rest of their house. Sadly Casey - who hadn't been anything other than a victim in the confrontation - was rather ruthlessly targeted by the other 1st year boys, who assumed Casey was also to blame, because of his friendship with Amber and Lizza. They made Casey pay for his, 'mistake', by dumping the contents of his trunk, all over the common room, in-between their Herbology and Defence against the Dark Arts classes. By the time Casey had gathered up his things, he was late to class costing Hufflepuff another 5 points.

The Trio left dinner earlier than most. Only sitting down for a few bites to eat, before clearing off and heading towards Professor Hackle's office, where their inevitable detention awaited them.

"I can't believe Professor Hackle took 85 points of us. As if everyone didn't hate us enough already, she had to go throw oil on the frickin' fire." Lizza said bitterly. She was practically stomping her way towards the Professor Hackles classroom.

"I'm sure she didn't realise how much grief it indirectly caused us, after all, she doesn't have any of us for classes." Amber rationalised.

"Hmmmp." Was all the reply Amber got.

The rest of the walk to Professor Hackle's office, was done in silence. Lizza was just too wound up by yesterday's events. to participate in any meaningful conversation. and Casey seemed distant for some reason. Amber just gave up talking to either of them.

They pushed open the door to what they thought was the Muggle Studies classroom, only to be welcomed instead, by wide antechamber set up like a showroom. Various Muggle objects were lined up inside glass cabinets, and even a diorama of a Muggle living room lay set up in one corner, cordoned off by a length of rope.

Amber found it interesting, that various household objects she was familiar with at home, such as phones and toasters, lay behind enchanted glass with signs saying 'do not touch'. The scene was so bizarre by Amber's standards, that she couldn't help but let out a small giggle. Casey just shook his head at Amber's bemusement.

Whilst Amber found the showroom strangely amusing, Lizza on the other hand found it rather fascinating. She gaped at various objects, reading their name and use quietly to herself , with a curious expression.

"In here girls." Professor Hackle called from her adjoining classroom.

"Here we go." Lizza whispered in Amber's ear.

"It'll be fine Liz, Professor Hackle is pretty nice, I am sure she'll go easy on us." Amber whispered back when they entered the Muggle Studies classroom.

Professor Hackle's classroom resembled something you would see in an average Muggle high school. Posters lined the walls of influential Muggle leaders from various points in history. Radios, Phones, and even a TV, lied on a big table in one corner of the room. Amber was even surprised to see a White Board at the front of the room instead of a Blackboard, like all of the other classrooms that Hogwarts had. For Amber, it felt like she walked through a veil that transported her back to her old school in Canada.

"Please take seat." Professor Hackle said from her desk, not taking her eyes of the test that she was marking.

It wasn't until Lizza hesitated to take a seat, that Amber realised how the tables in the room where set up. Instead of neat rows facing the front, the tables were set up in groups making 4 small "islands", which could seat up to 6 students. Lizza followed Amber's lead as she took a seat on one of the tables towards the edge of the room, with Casey sitting next across from them.

"Mr Jands?" A confused Professor Hackle asked once she looked up from her marking.

"Um… yes?"

"Why are you here?" Amber and Lizza looked at each other, and realised the confusion before Casey or Professor Hackle did.

"We have detention don't we?" Casey said unsure.

Professor Hackle gave a light chuckle. "Mr Jands, only the girls have detention. As I recall you didn't participate in the fight."

"But I would have." Casey said before thinking, earning a kick from Amber under the table. "I mean, I should have."

"Mr Jands, as much I can appreciate you sticking by your friends. You did no wrong yesterday, and as such, should not be punished for it. Go and enjoy your evening, and let the girls finish their detention in peace."

Uncertain and a bit crestfallen; Casey slowly rose from his seat and quietly left the room. "I'll see you back in the Common Room."

Amber and Lizza sat in silence whilst they waited for Melanie and Raylea. At 7 o'clock a chime rang through the room, and Amber immediately looked at Lizza who returned her grin. A grin that intensified, when they heard Professor Hackle sigh.

2 and a half minutes later, Melanie and Raylea burst through the door to showroom panting and out of breath. Professor Hackle rose from her seat and stood in front of her desk patiently. Waiting for the 2 Slytherin girls, to enter her classroom.

"Girl's, please stop looking at the display, and come take a seat." Professor Hackle said giving them a disappointed look when they entered the room. "Why are you late girls?"

Raylea answered the Professor whilst Melanie gingerly took her seat; she was rubbing her cheek as she did. "Sorry Professor, we um, got held up by Mr Filtch."

"And why, did Mr Filtch feel he needed to hold you girls up?"

"We…. ah…. We accidently bumped into a suit of armour whilst we were rushing to get here."

Professor Hackle could give a disappointed sigh. Both Melanie and Raylea sheepishly looked down at their hands. Amber and Lizza meanwhile, struggled to hold in their giggles, at the Slytherin's miss steps.

"2 Points from each of you, for your tardiness." Professor Hackle informed them. Melanie and Raylea nodded meekly.

"Okay girls," Professor Hackle announced, she then started to hand out 2 rolls of parchment to each student, notably without the use of her wand. "Now I feel that writing, 'I must not start fights' 5,000 times over, is terribly boring, and I don't think that any you will truly learn your lesson if I made you write that, so instead, all of you will write a short essay on why starting fights with fellow students is against school rules, and why, calling each other slurs and other derogatory names, is worse than starting the aforementioned fights. Once you have completed your essay bring it up to me. If it is satisfactory, you may head back to your dormitory, if it is not, you will start over, until you can produce one that is. Any questions?"

"How long is our essay supposed to be?" Raylea asked after she raised her hand.

"As long as you deem necessary to adequately answer the question. Anything else girls?" No one replied. "You may begin."

The minutes and hours drew on by, as the girls wrote, with only the scratching of their quills, to fill the silence. No one in the group was really sure just how much Professor Hackle wanted them write, or more importantly, _what,_ she wanted them to write. Melanie was first the first one to finish, and take her parchments up to the Professor. Only for Professor Hackle to point out things she had missed, or worded poorly, and made her start again.

All of the girls, at least once, went up to the Professor with what they thought was a satisfactory piece, only to be disappointed when they were turned down, and made to start over. But each time one of the went up, the list of things they needed to add or change, grew shorter and shorter. Surprisingly, Raylea was the first one to hand in an essay that was satisfactory enough. Professor Hackle dismissed her from the room with a smile, and Lizza wasn't far behind her.

The chimes from the school's clock echoed through the classroom, and Professor Hackle looked up from her novel –she had finished grading her tests an hour ago- and gave a stifled yawn.

"Alright, that's enough for tonight, you can finish your essays in your own time. I expect them on my desk by Friday. Miss Shapell you may go, Miss McKinnon, if you wouldn't mind staying a moment."

Melanie gave Amber a smirk as she packed up her things, and left the classroom leaving Amber sitting alone at her desk, feeling very nervous.

"It's okay Amber, you're not in any more trouble. Relax." Professor Hackle came over and sat on the corner of Amber's desk.

"Sorry, I thought you were keeping me back to give me extra work or something."

"Oh no, I'm not that evil. Professor Rockfield on the other hand…" Amber gave a small laugh at that joke. "No, I merely wanted to ask why haven't come by my office."

"Oh," Amber said surprised. She had completely forgotten the promise she made to Professor Hackle back in Nova Scotia. "I guess I sort of forgot, things got pretty complicated after the sorting ceremony."

"It's okay my dear. Hogwarts can be a bit of an eye opener for 1st years, particularly those that are not accustomed to the Magical world."

"I wish it was that." Amber said under breath.

"What was that?" The Professor asked.

"Nothing," Amber unsure whether to open up. "It's just…. I don't know."

"Amber your Mum asked me to watch out for you in case anything happened to her. If there's something troubling you, you can tell me. Whatever you say won't leave this room."

"It… It… It's just I'm terrible at Magic, my best friend gets bullied every day and there's nothing that I can do to stop it my roommate is homesick and the other Hufflepuffs are giving us the silent treatment because of yesterday." Everything Amber said, sort of came out, as a rush of babbling words, but to her credit, Professor Hackle managed to get all of it.

"Oh, Amber." The Professor said pulling the young girl into a hug. "If you are having trouble you silly girl, ask for help."

"I know I should, it's just, everything here is still so different. I don't know what I'm doing half the time."

"Well telling me what's wrong is a good start. Your Magic, what are you struggling with at the moment?"

"Pretty much anything that involves me using a wand." Amber slumped further into her chair. "I'm doing well with the theory, but when it comes down to actually _casting_ spells, it just ends up in a disaster."

"Hmmmm…. Well, why don't come by my office every Friday evening, say…. 6pm before dinner. For a bit of practice?"

"That…. That sounds wonderful."

"You're welcome my dear. Unfortunately, I can't do much to help your friends unless they come and ask for it, in my experience, most students just deny it if I ask them if they are being bullied." Professor Hackle said sadly. "I will however tell the other teachers, to keep an extra eye out for any bullying going on though."

"I wish there was more I could do to help them." Amber sighed. She stared at the wall in front of her, thinking of what to do about her friends.

"You are just like your Mother." Amber looked up to the teacher who smiled at her. "She would do the same thing you just did. Whenever she was worried about something, she was just stare straight ahead, whilst she tried to think of a way to fix the problem."

"You knew my mum?" Amber asked.

"Yes, I did. She was one of my closest friends when I was at Hogwarts. I miss her dearly, and I know Saffron and the others do too." Professor Hackle smiled fondly as she spoke. "Don't cry Amber."

"It's not fair!" Amber wailed. "Why does everyone else get to know my Mum except me? I can barely remember her face."

"Amber," She gave way to Professor Hackle, who wiped away her tears. "I don't know a single Witch or Wizard who didn't lose someone during the war. It's okay; it'll get easier with time."

Once her crying came under control, Amber sat up with a sniffle, and wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her robes. "Sorry for crying like that."

"You have nothing to apologise for Amber. Here, I want you to have this _._ " Professor Hackle quickly got up and retrieved a framed photograph from her desk, setting the photo down next to Amber.

"I have this picture." Amber said softly.

"You have?" Amber nodding to the teacher's question. "Oh, I didn't know you had one."

"I do, but I don't know who's in it." Amber quickly added, sensing the Professor's disappointment. "I found it in amongst my Mum's old school things."

"Ah, in that case I can help you with that."

There were 5 people in the picture, all of which were students of Hogwarts. Amber realised they were all Hufflepuffs too, as the round door to the girl's dormitories could be seen in the background. Her mum stood off to the far right, with another girl leaning heavily on her shoulder, both giggling about something funny. The girl in the middle stood with her arms crossed, looking at her Mum whilst rolling her eyes. Finally, two boys stood to the left. The smaller boy in the front had messy brown hair, and wore glasses. The taller boy on the other hand, stood behind him with his arms wrapped around him protectively, resting his head on the smaller boys shoulder.

"Obviously, you know your Mum is the one on the far right. Can you guess who the girl is leaning on your Mum's shoulder?

Amber looked intently at the picture. "Oh my god! Is that Saffron?"

"She certainly looks a lot different now, huh? She was a bit crazy back in those days."

Amber stared at Saffron, she looked so different back then. She then realised who the girl standing in the middle was. "Wait. Are you the one in the middle?"

"Good guess." Professor Hackle said with a bit of pride. "I know I look even more different now, than what Saffron does."

"You said it, not me." Amber said playfully, earning an eye roll very similar to the one in the picture.

"You might not be able to guess the other two though. The one in the front is my brother Fabio, and behind him is his boyfriend Xaiver Abbott." Professor Hackle spoke with a touch of sadness.

"Did they break up or something? You seem sad."

"No, they didn't break up. Fabio was killed during the war. I haven't seen Xavier since."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up."

"Really Amber it's okay, you couldn't have known. I keep this picture around to remind me of… the good times we shared… before things…. before things became dark." The Professors said, her fond smile briefly leaving her face.

"We've lost a lot haven't we?" Amber said solemnly.

"We have, but we have also gained a lot because of their sacrifice. So long as we never forget them, and what they did."

Amber gave a soft smile back to the Professor, and then turned back to the picture. What did her Mum get up to when she was Hogwarts. She felt like a stranger to her own family.

"I think it might be time to head back to the Common Room Amber. It's getting late." Professor Hackle glanced at the clock at the front of the room. It was getting close to 10:30.

"Okay." Amber said, rising from her seat. She gave Professor Hackle one last hug before she moved to leave the room.

"Oh, Amber one last thing," Professor Hackle quickly scribbled on a piece of parchment. "Just in case Mr Flitch or any of the Prefects hassle you."

"Thank you Professor…. And not just for the note." With one last wave, Amber skipped out of the classroom and headed for her House, very much looking forward to some sleep.


	8. Chapter 8: Ignis Azula

**Chapter Eight: Ignis Azula**

If there was one thing Lizza hated above everything else, it was being cold. She hated it with a passion. If one looked at the girl's bedside table, you would find a small calendar that counted down the days until the Christmas holidays, when she would finally be able to return home, to the hot Australian summer.

The weather growing colder did nothing to improve Lizza's mood, and the snow that had lightly blanketed the school for the first time that year, didn't help the issue either. Not for the first time, Lizza wished she was going to school back in Australia.

Her classes went by like a dream. Lizza payed just enough attention, to get by unnoticed by her teachers. Although her teachers may not have noticed her increasingly worsening bad mood, her friends did.

"Earth to Lizza, come in Lizza." Casey called from across the table at breakfast. When that failed to snap Lizza out of her daydream, Amber took it upon herself to pinch the girl's hand.

"Ouch! What the flamin' hell was that for Amber?" Lizza shouted, pulling her hand away from her attacker.

"Liz you've been like staring at your plate for the like the past 5 minutes, you have barely taken a bite out of anything. CJ and I were getting worried." Amber retorted.

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something." Lizza mumbled, still looking down at her plate.

"Are you alright Liz?" Amber asked. "You seem out of it."

"Yeah like, more so than usu **a** l." Casey said, he couldn't help but throw in his two cents. "Oww, why the hell did you kick me Amber?"

Amber gave a Casey a glare in response, and Lizza stirred uncomfortably in her seat. She tried to quickly think of a response that would satisfy her friends.

"I…. I just don't like the cold." Lizza lied. "I hate it; it makes me feel like crap."

"Why don't you use that spell that you used on the train? You know, that one that warms things up." Casey asked with a mouth full of food.

"I have, I am." Lizza reapplied the warming charm. "My robes, jumper, and tights have that spell currently cast on them, and I am _still_ freezing."

"What if we hit the library just before 3rd period, and try and find you a spell that can help warm you up better?"

"That… That actually sounds good." Lizza surprised at her friends suggestion.

"Excellent, we'll meet back up here during lunch and go from there." Amber said taking charge.

"Amber, we're all in the same class. We'll be sitting next to each other all day." This promptly costed Casey another kick to the shins.

After pushing through Defence against the Dark Arts and then a freezing Herbology, the trio finally made it to the library. Lizza sat idly next to Casey, as they both skimmed through a charms book they had found. Amber on the other hand, was somehow reading 2 books at once, constantly jumped between pages of both books, comparing notes.

"Argh, this is driving me nuts. I can't find a single spell that is more effective than the charm we already know. It's like comparing a Charizard to Caterpie.

Casey laughed at Amber's joke, but Lizza had no clue what she was on about.

"It's okay Amber it was worth a try. I'll manage with the spell I already know." Giving her friend a half smile.

"No, I will find you a spell that's better. I promise." Amber said defiantly, slamming closed the books she had in front of her, earning a 'Shhh', from some nearby 6th years.

"Well it'll have to be later, or we'll be late to Transfiguration." Casey reasoned. "You know how Professor Rockfield gets when students are late. He docked Noah 10 points last week, just for walking into class a few seconds after role."

"I guess you're right." Amber conceded. "Wait. That's it!"

Amber's little outburst was just a fraction to loud, which unfortunately, gained the unwanted attention of a Madam Price.

"If you can't keep quiet in the library, then get out! Out!" Madam Price flicked her wand, charming the three Hufflepuff's scarfs, to pull and drag them out of the Library.

"I guess the Library's out for a little while, way to go Amber." Casey spat while he retired his scarf.

Amber looked guilty at Lizza. "Sorry Liz, that was my fault."

"It's alright Amber, honestly. I'm happy you even tried to find something. Come on, we should get to Transfiguration."

Casey was the first one to remember Amber's idea. "Hey Amber, what was that thing you said was 'it'?"

Amber face palmed quite forcefully. Lizza was surprised she hadn't broken her nose. "Right, I nearly forgot with Madam Price kicking us out."

"Well, what is it." Lizza asked earnestly.

"Why don't we ask one of the teachers if they know a spell, that can help keep you warm?"

"Ask a teacher?" Casey said uncertainly.

"I don't know Amber." Lizza was equally unsure. "I don't think there would be any teacher, that would teach me a spell like that outside of the current course."

"What about Professor Hackle?" Amber supplied cheerfully.

"Not a Buckley's chance in hell," Lizza snorted. "Or in case you have forgotten, she gave us detention 3 weeks ago."

"I don't think Professor Hackle will hold that against us if we asked her." Casey and Lizza stared at Amber with their eyebrows raised.

"Fine," Amber relented. They turned the corner and entered their transfiguration class, sitting down in their usual seats. "What about Professor Flitwick? He loves teaching us new charms. I'm sure he'll teach us, or at least you Liz, if we ask."

"Quiet girls, you are in class now." Professor Rockfield absently remarked as he wrote something on the blackboard.

"Professor Flitwick is pretty nice; he's really patient with you Amber." Casey slyly whispered, earning a slap across the arm from the girl.

"I'm not that bad anymore; I can finally do the levitation charm now, well, sort of." Amber admitted.

Professor Rockfield coughed from the front of the room, once again trying to silence the trio.

"Can you sort of do the _'Lumos'_ charm now?" Casey whispered once Professor Rockfield turned his back to them again.

"No comment." This caused Casey to desperately try and hold in a snort. Amber then quietly turned back to Lizza. "Ignore CJ. Well what do you think?"

Lizza was torn for a moment, but eventually she relented. "Okay, I guess it can't hurt to ask."

"Girls if you are quite done talking, class is about to start, or would like me to take some points from Hufflepuff. If that doesn't work, perhaps detention would be more effective." Amber, Casey, and Lizza said nothing else for the rest of the class.

After getting through the rest of Transfiguration, and then Charms. Amber grabbed Lizza, and hauled her towards the front of the room once class had finished; Casey tagging along just behind them.

"Professor Flitwick do you mind if we ask you something?" Amber sheepishly asked the Professor.

"Hmmmm," Professor Flitwick mumbled then peering over his desk. "Yes? What is it you need help with Miss McKinnon?"

"Oh, it's not me this time Professor, it's Liz." Amber said pushing her friend forward. "She was wondering if she can ask you something."

"Miss Karoonda, what can I help you with?"

Nervously, Lizza took a breath, and looked up to the little wizard behind the desk. "Well I was wondering… If um… if you could teach me a spell that could help keep me warm."

"If your cold my girl, why don't you put on jumper." Lizza responded by pulling up her hem of her shirt, revealing the 4 layers of clothes she was wearing, including her jumper. "Oh I see."

"Professor, Lizza isn't use to the British weather and gets cold really easily. She…. um…. Gets a bit down when she's cold." Amber offered unsure whether to add the last part.

"I see," Professor Flitwick said sympathetically. "Have you tried looking in the library?"

"Yes Professor, we couldn't find a spell that is better than the one I already know." Lizza added.

"You're already using a spell to warm yourself?" Lizza nodded yes to the Professor's question. "Which one?"

"The warming charm ' _Thermos'_ Professor."

"That isn't powerful enough?"

Lizza shook her head no. She was starting to feel cold again.

"Have you tried _Solarus?"_ Professor Flitwick pried.

 _"_ Doesn't last long enough"

" _Levigo?"_

"Tends to burn my skin."

"That is a pickle then. Most of the other charms I would recommend are a bit advanced for a 1st year." Professor Flitwick said offhandedly. "One moment."

Professor Flitwick hopped down from his position, and started looking through the pile of books he was just standing on, to use as a boost, to see over his desk. Books rose up and circled around the room like a whirlwind. The Professor seemed totally oblivious to the awe inspiring magic, that the 3 young Hufflepuffs stared at. It was almost as if the Professor was doing all of this subconsciously.

After a minute of looking through books, a small 'Ah, Ha!' came from behind the desk. The text books circling the room returned to the pile, and Professor Flitwick climbed back up to his previous perch, tome in hand.

"I think this might do the trick." Professor Flitwick said, levitating the book down to Lizza with a page open. "Have you heard of the Bluebell Flames charm?"

All three students shook their heads no.

"Bluebell Flames are quite useful either as a heating element or a light source. But what makes the spell quite handy is the fact that it is waterproof. Observe. _Aguamenti! Ignis Azula!"_

Professor Flitwick raised his wand into the air and conjured a large orb of water, then shot a small blue flame into the orb, which interestingly stayed alight even though it was submerged. The Professor then brought the bubble of water down, stuck his hand into it, and then pulled the flame out with his bare hands.

"Don't be alarmed, Bluebell Flames can't burn unless you overload it. You'll find instructions on how to cast it, on page 194 of that book. Though I must warn you Lizza, do not try and practice casting this charm around anything flammable, it can be a tricky to learn."

"Okay, thank you Professor."

"Let me know next charms class how you are faring with the spell, or if you need any help." The Professor shouted when Lizza and her friends left his classroom.

Lizza wasn't expecting to end up with a new spell when she started the day, but she was grateful for it, and she soon learned why she shouldn't practice it around anything flammable. One night when she was practicing the charm in her dormitory with Amber, she accidentally mispronounced the spell name, and shot a fireball across the room; lighting the drapes on fire. They had to ask Juliet for help putting out the fire, who was as they say, was less than happy with the result.

In the end, they moved their practice outside to the school grounds, just behind the Quidditch pitch, where none could accidently find them. Lizza tried to get Amber to try the spell, but she defiantly responded with: "If you miss casting the charm sent our dorm on fire, I don't want to know what'll happen if I tried it."

As great of a location that the Quidditch pitch was, Lizza was disappointed one Saturday to find the area they normally practiced, filled with students talking.

"I totally forgot Quidditch was on today." Amber remembered. "Let's head back to the Common room."

Lizza paused for a moment before turning back to her friend. "We're already down here we might as well go to the game."

"Ergh, do we have too?" Amber groaned. "Quidditch is boring."

"Come on _please_ Amber." Lizza begged. "Casey with went with me last time."

"Ehhhhhh….." Amber moaned.

"This is the first time Hufflepuff will be playing this year. Where's your sense of house pride."

"I never thought I would ever hear you talking about house pride Liz." Amber joked.

" _Please!_ " Lizza gave Amber the best puppy dog eyes look that she could muster.

"Fine, we'll go to your dumb Quidditch match." Amber relented.

"YES!" Lizza shouted with joy.

They found their way up into the stands, and managed to find themselves a good spot in the shade, under one of the spectator towers. The match hadn't started yet but all the players were out on the pitch warming up, and Madam Hooch was in an animated discussion with the Hufflepuff Captain, Nickolas Sharp.

"I wonder what Sharps is talking to Madam Hooch about?" Amber asked to nobody in particular.

"He's probably checking with Madam Hooch that his last minute substitution is alright." Juliet said startling the two first years.

"Where did you come from?" Amber blurted out, trying to recover from the surprise.

"I've been here much longer than you have." Juliet clarified. "Don't you pay attention to the people around you? You really need to be more perceptive."

"There are heaps of people around. You can hardly blame us for not recognising everyone." Amber snapped.

"Anyway." Lizza cut in, before her friend could anything else. "Why's Sharps subbing someone in last minute?"

"You haven't heard?" Juliet asked surprised.

Amber and Lizza just looked at their senior witch with blank expressions on their face.

"Well did either of you hear shouting in the Common Room this morning?" Amber and Lizza both nodded yes. "Well, Nick and Kaylean Summers had a row around 7am, about the tactics they were going to use in today's game. They're always knocking heads, but normally they pull it together right before a match."

"So that's what all that shouting this morning was about." Amber said quietly. "So why was this time any different?"

"Well Summers was pretty upset, and she said she wasn't going to play until Nick apologised. This is the first time he hasn't."

"Do you think it'll affect the team's performance without Summer's in air?" Lizza asked.

"I don't know." Juliet worried. "They've got Lucy Peterson from the reserves to replace her, but Lucy is a horrible catch. Sure she's a great throw, and decent blocker. but the trouble is getting her the Quaffle."

"Peterson!? Paul has an elder sister?" Amber said in disbelief.

"Yup! And she's just as much of a klutz as he is. Runs in the family I think."

The girl's attention was quickly snapped up by Hayden Brown, the Hogwarts Quidditch commentator. He just started the commentary on today's match.

"GOOD MORNING QUIDDITCH FANS! Hayden Brown here commentating for you all on today's game. HUFFLEPUFF v RAVENCLAW! A few weeks ago, we saw the stunning season opener between Gryffindor and Slytherin, where the Lions went down to the Snakes by 50 points. The final score was 140 to 190."

Hayden's voice boomed across the pitch, and the players went to their starting positions.

Lizza was at the game a few weeks back, and Hayden was right, the match was stunning. Both teams fought tooth and nail, with the Gryffindor chasers gaining the edge as the game progressed. The climax for the game resulted in both Seekers crashing into the stands, as they made a last desperate attempt to grab for the Snitch, with the Slytherin Seeker coming out on top.

A loud whistle rang in Lizza's ears, and Madam Hooch threw the Quaffle into the air, beginning the game.

"And here we go! – Ravenclaw Captain Mark Thickton rockets up through the pack, and snatches the Quaffle before anyone else can get a hand too it—he's ahead of the pack and is making for the goal posts already – He shoots – NO! Blocked by Broody Lufkin – Brilliant save by the Hufflepuff Keeper – Wait, Thickton takes his own rebound – lines up another shot – Blocked again by Lufkin! – Lufkin has the Quaffle, the play resets –What a brilliant pickup by Sharp, Lufkin is already earning his place on the team today."

"What house is Hayden Brown in? Is he a Hufflepuff?" Lizza asked curiously.

"No, surprisingly. He's a Gryffindor." Juliet said monotone.

"Really? With the way he's talking about Lufkin I could have sworn he would be a Hufflepuff." Amber marvelled.

"That's why Professor McGonagall likes him so much; he's excited about every team that's playing not just his fellow Gryffindor's." Juliet said whilst trying to watch the action. "He's also impartial which is really rare for a Hogwarts commentator, everyone loves him no matter what house their in."

"Good steal by Dianne Page - she flicks it to Samantha Ackerly – Ackerly making for the posts – Ouch! –Ackerly takes a Bludger to the gut courtesy of Captain Nickolas Sharp – some may say he can't throw, but _dam_ , he can hit a Bludger – Hufflepuff back in possession – Frank Truman has the Quaffle - he's zooming down the pitch – makes a pass to Lucy Peterson – Oh No! She's munted the effing catch!"

"BROWN! LANGUAGE!"

"Sorry Professor."

"That said… He has a tendency to swear during his commentary." Juliet winced slightly at Hayden's last play by play.

"Yeah I heard." Amber said shyly.

"I don't see a problem with it." Lizza chipped in unfazed.

"Ravenclaw have the Quaffle - their circling around the outer edges setting up their next play – The Hufflepuff defence is holding –ZANDER STUMP AND KELLY MIDHURST ARE DIVING! – Have the Seekers spotted the Snitch? – Yes! Yes they have, and not a single score has been made yet. – I take that back! – Thickton uses the distraction to slip one by Lufkin! Ravenclaw scores! – Back to the Seekers – Their both ducking and weaving – Stump's in the lead – His arms outstretched. – Bloody Hell! – Both Seekers forced to dodge, as Ravenclaw's Trevor Partington sends a Bludger their way."

"Brown!"

"Ahhh, Right!"

"Zander's pretty agile. He dodged that bludger like it was nothing." Lizza said awestruck.

"Yeah I imagine he would be." Juliet said peeking Lizza's attention.

"Huh, why?"

"Well he's flying one of those new Nimbus 3030's isn't he?" Juliet revealed.

"Wow, how did he get his hands on one of those, they have only been out for little over a year." Lizza surprised by the revelation.

"His family's pretty wealthy, his great-great-granddad or something was one of the Ministers for Magic a couple of centuries ago. His parent's got him that broom when he said he wanted to try out for the Quidditch team. They're big fans of Quidditch."

"Has he got the skill though?" Lizza said to herself, not expecting Juliet to hear over the roar of the crowd.

"Don't know. This is the first match he's played in; he must have some skill though since he made it through try outs."

"I guess so, but being a Seeker is all about speed. Yeah sure with the 3030 he'll out maneuverer everyone, but that brooms only used by Keepers and occasionally Chasers." Lizza objected.

"That is true, but no one in the school as far as I know has a Firebolt, which I might add, is the only broom faster than the Nimbus 3030." Juliet rebutted. "Trust me, he has the not only the best broom in the school, but the fastest."

"Ackerly and Page are playing hot potato with the Quaffle - they race down the pitch – Hopkins and Peterson move to block – Peterson connects, Hopkins doesn't – Page with the Quaffle. – She takes a shot. – No! It's a bluff! - Brilliant 'Reverse Pass' to Thickton– Thickton feints – He shoots! – FANTASTIC BLOCK BY LUFKIN! – Mark my words, that's save of the bloody year!"

Lizza was impressed. Broody Lufkin's save, was the kind of stuff you'd have to go to a professional match to see. He predicted Mark Thickton's feint, and then feinted the feint, by executing a loop mid dive, to arrive at the far right goal post Thickton had been aiming for.

"Broody's good. Like _really_ good." Lizza said impressed at her fellow Hufflepuff's flying ability.

"He's been single handily keeping Hufflepuff in with a chance ever since he joined the team 5 years ago, he's so talented." Juliet purred. Earning her a weird look from both Amber and Lizza. "What? A girl can have a crush can't she?"

Amber and Lizza both mumbled a not committal response.

"Ravenclaw's making another run - Edward Rushden clears the way with a Bludger – It nearly hits Stump - Liam Abbot rushes to protect his Seeker – Thickton sees an opening – Truman tries to block but it's shaken off – Peterson fairs better – Pass goes wide to Page –Is intercepted by Hopkins – WOW! Amazing reverse steal from Dianne Page – She beats Lufkin to the goal post – And puts it away! – What's this? Lufkin's calling for a foul, he says that Ravenclaw was 'Stooging'!"

"What's Stooging?" Amber asked.

"It's when a team has more than one Chaser in their opponents scoring area." Juliet clarified.

"Then why is Lufkin complaining then? Was another Chaser in the scoring area?"

"Yeah, well it seems like their might be." Lizza said unsure. She was trying to figure out what Madam Hooch was saying on the pitch. "Seems like Lufkin was guarding Thickton and wasn't expecting Page to get the steal from Hopkins. He's claiming that Thickton was still in the scoring area when Page scored."

"Quidditch is so confusing." Amber huffed.

"It's not any more confusing than any other sport." Juliet said defensively. She was watching the outcome on the pitch with the same intent as Lizza. "Rotten luck. Madam Hooch ruled in Page's favour, the score stands."

"I still don't get it." Amber said trying to get her friends attention. "How can you guys find this so interesting? We haven't even scored yet."

"We probably won't." Lizza interjected, much to Amber's and Juliet's surprise.

"What? How can you say that?" Amber gasped.

"Well judging by how Hufflepuff is playing, their game plan is probably to buy time for Zander Stump to catch the Snitch, rather than try and score with the Quaffle." Lizza said with absolute certainty. "I mean Zander's broom grossly outclasses anything else on the pitch. Look at Midhurst, she's on a pretty fast Cleansweep and is struggling to keep pace with him."

Amber stared at Lizza with wide eyed wonder. And even Juliet was taken aback with Lizza's observations.

"Wow, you worked all that out just by watching them play?" Juliet bewildered.

"Of course. Isn't it obvious?"

"No not really Liz." Juliet said getting over her surprise. "Nick and Liam spent weeks coming up with those plays."

"Well, they are good plays don't get me wrong. They're just easy to read." Lizza said bashfully.

"Make sure you don't tell them that." Juliet laughed.

"Thickton with the Quaffle – He hands it off to Ackerly – Who flicks it to Page – She runs the Quaffle into the scoring area – she shoots – No! It's too high, it's a pass – Thickton receives the Quaffle – You're a mad man Thickton that was mighty close to being called 'Stooging' – Sharp comes flying in – oooohhhhh… He's gone for the 'Transylvanian Tackle' but Thickton calls his bluff – That was a fucking poxy of a move Sharp."

"WHAT DID I SAY BROWN!"

"Sorry profess… - OH NO! COLLISION MIDAIR! – Lufkin and Rushden are down! – That was most certainly a foul by Rushden!

"Oh no." Amber gulped. "Are they going to be alright?"

"I don't know." Juliet just as worried. "That was one hell of a collision; a bludger was involved."

When Nickolas Sharp came in for his 'Transylvanian Tackle' against Mark Thickton, he failed to notice that Edward Rushen was lining himself up, to intercept a Bludger for his captain. At the last second, all three Players attempted to dodge the impending collision. Thickton and Sharp both managed to get clear, but unfortunately for Rushden, he swerved in the wrong direction and flew straight into Broody Lufkin.

To make matters worse, the very Bludger that Rushden tried to intercept, came hurtling down, and adding insult to injury, smashed into both players; breaking Rushden's arm, and cracking two of Lufkin's ribs. The fall back to earth knocked them both out, removing them from the remainder of the game.

For what is was worth Lucy Peterson took the penalty shot and scored against Yule Turpin, but it was a moot point. With their star Keeper down, the Hufflepuff defence crumbled. For the rest of the game, nearly all of Ravenclaw's scoring opportunities were converted into goals. Even though Sharp and Abbot made good use of their Beater advantage, it only slowed down the bleeding.

Mark Thickton dominated the rest of the match racking up a whopping, 110 points for his team. Which was least of all helped by Sharp and Abbot, who twice lost their cool and fouled him, and with no Keeper on the field they, were basically giving points away.

"And the onslaught continues! Thickton nets yet another beautiful goal, he's on fire today! After 28 minutes of play the score is 150 to 10, Ravenclaw's favour - Play resets with Hufflepuff in possession - They are doing everything in their power to keep Ravenclaw away from that precious red ball, and this is turning into a crazy game of monkey in the middle – Truman passes to Hopkins who passes it straight back – Truman dives, he's got two chasers on his tail – He throws a power pass to Peterson – who's dropped the effing Quaffle again! – Ackerly retrieves the Quaffle. – AND SHE'S NEARLY TAKEN OUT BY SEEKERS! – Stumps's hot on the Snitch's tail, if he catches it here, that'll be the game for Hufflepuff! – He's almost there, he could feel the Snitches wing beats he's that close – HE'S GOT IT! STUMPS GOT THE SNITCH! -Wait! WHAT!? I don't believe it! - Just seconds before Stump's caught the Snitch, Thickton has scored! IT'S A TIE GAME FOLKS!"

An audible gasp rang throughout the crowd. Everyone was in disbelief; a tie game in Quidditch was incredibly rare. All the players on the pitch, landed heavily onto ground, not sure whether to cheer or cry, it was the same in the crowds.

"Wow," Amber proclaimed. "That was an ending."

"It sure was." Juliet stared in disbelief at all of the Quidditch players, (both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw), who now either lay bewildered on the ground, or sat with their head in their hands. There was a hollow feeling in both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Common Rooms that night.

The tie game did nothing to improve Lizza's mood. She did however manage to successfully master the Bluebell Flames charm, now that her practice area was again free. The only unfortunate thing was, that only Professor Flitwick allowed the girl to cast the charm in class, (letting out a small squeak of delight whenever she did so). The other teachers however, forced her to extinguish the flames.

Learning the Bluebell Flames charm, and going to the Quidditch match, had only distracted Lizza temporarily. It did not cure her depression or homesickness, and both grew worse as days dragged on.

And then, on one autumn afternoon, Lizza finally snapped.

"Come on Lizza, we got flying class next. You love flying." Amber said trying to be enthusiastic as she could, at the idea of another Flying class. The duo where walking down the steps to the Quidditch pitch, which they now were all too familiar with.

"I guess." Came barely audible reply.

"Liz, what's wrong? You have been so down lately. You're not cold are you? You always get depressed when you're cold."

"I'm not cold. I have a jar of 'Bluebell Flames' under my robe, and I have the 'Thermos charm' cast on my tights and jumper." Lizza replied a little too snippy for her liking.

"Oh, okay then." Amber said pulling away from her side.

"No don't go Amber. Sorry…. I'm just…. In a bit of a mood today." Lizza said apologetically.

"It's okay." Amber said, wrapping her up in a hug. "I wonder where Casey is."

"Didn't he quickly head back to the Common Room for something?"

"Yeah, but he didn't say why." Amber looked back in the direction of the castle. Casey was nowhere to be seen. "I hope he gets here soon, or he'll be late."

"I'm sure he's fine."

"I hope so; he tends to get himself into… situations."

The pair of girls arrived at the Quidditch pitch, to find Madam Hooch had set up a simple obstacle course. It really was quite simple, Lizza was pretty sure she could do it with her eyes closed. Amber on the other hand, went white when she saw the rings floating in the air.

"Oh no, not again." Amber complained when she saw how the pitch was laid out.

"It'll be fine Amber. Madam Hooch isn't timing us or anything, just go at your own pace."

"You say that, but last time I fell off when I went through the first ring."

"True, but it was windy that day."

"IT'S WINDY TODAY!" Amber whined.

Madam Hooch called all of the 1st year students over to her, and handed out brooms to each of them. Lizza noticed Amber still had trouble at times calling a broom to her at times.

The course they had to go through was pretty simple. Simply kick off from the starting point, and fly through the 1st ring at the south end of the pitch. Next you raced down to the other end, and fly through the 2nd ring. Finally, you returned back to the starting point, whilst passing through the 3rd ring - the highest one of them all.

As Madam Hooch was explaining the course, and the order in which they were flying. Casey came running onto the pitch, looking a little worse for wear, and very puffed out.

"Mr Jands I hope you have a good excuse for being late to my class."

Taking a moment to quickly catch his breath, Casey handed Madam Hooch a note. "Sorry Madam Hooch, I got caught up with something back at the Castle, Juliet Nightshade gave me this note. She's a prefect." A chorus of sniggers came from the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw boys.

"Very well Mr Jands, go and grab a broom. Ask one of your classmates to fill you in on what we are doing."

Casey nodded and went and stood next to Amber and Lizza. Madam Hooch took the first 3 students up into the air.

"So what are we doing?" Casey asked once he joined his friends.

"Flying through those rings." Amber whined. "I'm so going to fall off again."

Casey looked at Lizza who just shook her head. "She's been whining like this ever since we got to the pitch."

"Sounds about right," Amber was too busy worrying about the test to even notice Casey's quip. "What about you Liz, you seem kinda down today?"

"I'm fine, just a bit cold." Lying that she was cold seemed to get Amber and Casey off her back occasionally. "So why did Juliet write you that note?"

"Well, someone kinda threw some of my clothes into the 1st floor bathroom."

"Oh no! They were soaked weren't they?" Lizza exclaimed.

"Yeah, Myrtle did a number on them. I had to get Juliet to help get them back. So that's why I'm late."

"It was the other 1st year boy's wasn't it?" Casey just nodded in response. "I'm gona kick their asses to Woolloomooloo."

"It's fine Lizza." Casey said grabbing her before she could do something stupid. "Juliet dried my clothes for me, so there's no harm done."

"Still sucks though."

They watched as the other students from there house and Ravenclaw, fly through the course in turns. A few of the Quidditch enthusiasts, decided to turn the test into a race, and flew the course as fast as they could, much to Madam Hooch's annoyance. Some of them clipped the rings and nearly spun out, but all of them managed to stay on their brooms.

Derek Eastwitch was the only stand out as far as Lizza was concerned. He sprinted through the course, and didn't snag any of the rings, but Lizza noticed he lost a lot of speed out of the turns.

"I'd like to see someone top that performance." Derek shouted when he touched back down to earth. Lizza scoffed at his remark, she could do much better. "Think you can do better Karoonda?"

"With my eyes closed." Lizza shot back.

"Alright, prove it then."

"Watch me." Lizza said with more energy than she expected.

When it was Lizza's turn to take to the air, she flew up and hovered alongside Madam Hooch, until it was her turn to fly.

After Noah Abanel finished his lap of the course, Lizza barely waited for Madam Hooch's whistle, before she shot off like a rocket, for the south end of the pitch.

The wind rushed through her hair, her robe whipping up behind her. All the stress, all heartache, and all the homesickness she had felt over the past 2 ½ months, came surging forth; pushing her ever faster forward. She shot through the 1st ring cleanly, and came around in a wide arc, making for the other end without losing any speed. As she raced down the pitch, she realised how much she missed her Nimbus. Images of aunty Lu and her Dad teaching her how to fly, came to forefront of her mind.

"Faster." She whispered to herself. "I'll show them how fast I can go."

She pushed the limit of what the little Comet 260 could do, and she cleared the 2nd ring faster than she cleared the 1st, if that was at all possible. Her fellow classmates looked up in awe; the speed Lizza was racing around the pitch at was unbelievable. Amber and Casey cheered as she rocketed from one end to the other. Even Madam Hooch was impressed by the spirit of her flying.

Lizza angled her broom up as she came out of the 2nd ring, and gained altitude making for the 3rd. Up and up she soared, feeling the pull of gravity behind her. How she missed this, how she missed racing her friends through the bush back home.

As she came through the 3rd ring, instead of angling down, she pulled back on her broom executing a backwards loop, and headed straight back down to the ground. The cold wind clung to her face reminding her of where she was. She was use to a hot wind stinging her eyes. Tears formed, and she plummeted towards earth.

A whistle sounded from Madam Hooch in the distance, a scream from another student bellow, but it didn't reach Lizza's ears. Her mind became foggy, and although she couldn't see properly, something inside her told her to pull up.

Pulling back hard on the little Comet 260, she levelled out just inches from the ground, and proceeded down the pitch; still traveling at breakneck speeds. Her vision became more and more blurred as tears filled her eyes. She wanted to go home. She wanted to be home so badly.

As thoughts of home grew, she began to feel her heartbreak.

Then.

Everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9: Fire Berry Vines

**Chapter Nine: Fire Berry Vines**

Amber sat in the hospital wing, holding Lizza's hand, as her friend slept peacefully, for the first time since she arrived at Hogwarts. There were still some bruises on Lizza's face and arms, but miraculously, the crazy girl somehow managed to not break a bone, when she fell off her broom after blacking out. The speed of the crash had in fact, totally destroyed the broom she was flying; a testament to her speed.

Amber and Casey were the first ones to reach Lizza after she crashed. Amber was heartbroken when she saw her friends bruised and tear soaked face. Madam Hooch raced down to check on her, moments later, and then took her to the Hospital wing. She let Amber and Casey come with her, more because she didn't have the time or energy to tell them they couldn't.

Amber hesitated to tell Madam's Pomfrey and Hooch the reason why Lizza might have fallen off her broom, but once Headmistress McGonagall arrived with Professor Sprout, she and Casey relented.

Turns out Professor Hackle had informed the staff of Lizza's homesickness, but they had no idea just how bad it had become. When Lizza woke up in the hospital wing after passing out, surrounded by teachers. She promptly broke down and confessed everything: from how she was being bullied, to, her acute sensitivity to the cold, and of course, her severe homesickness.

The teachers for the most part were accommodating, and after Madam Pomfrey gave Lizza a calming draught soon after; she fell back to sleep almost immediately. Amber tried to visit Lizza in between classes, but Madam Pomfrey denied her entry, saying her friend needed to rest. It wasn't until after dinner, that Amber was briefly allowed to see her friend.

Lizza informed Amber that her parents would be contacted, about her attending Hogwarts, as being here was clearly affecting her grades. Amber pleaded with Lizza not to go, stating over and over, that she was one of her closest friends, but Lizza remained silent on the issue; falling asleep, before Amber could get any real answer out of her.

"I'm sorry sweetheart but I'm going to have to ask you to leave now, it's nearly curfew." Madam Pomfrey ushered Amber off to bed.

"Okay Madam Pomfrey." Amber said down casted.

"Don't worry. I'm sure your friend will be back in your dormitory by the end of the week."

Amber just nodded her thanks before leaving for the Common Room.

Casey as per usual, was still up studying when Amber arrived. He was normally the last one out of the common room at night these days. Not wanting to return to a dormitory without Lizza, Amber pulled out her books, and sat down next to Casey to study.

"Hey," Amber said as she sat down.

"Hey, how's Liz?" Casey asked.

"Tired, weak… the crash took a lot out of her. Madam Pomfrey said she'll hopefully be back by the end of the week."

"That's nice, I'm glad she's sleeping though. You said she hardly ever sleeps in the dorm."

"Hopefully that's in the past now." Amber said solemnly, pulling out her History of Magic homework. "Why are you still up?"

"No reason. Just needed to catch up on some study."

"Casey you're out here every night studying, I'd be surprised if you actually had any homework left to do." Amber pressed. "Why are you really out here?"

"You're not going to let me up until I tell you are you?" Amber shook her head no, resulting in a loud sigh from the boy's mouth. "The other boys give me crap just about every night, so I stay up out here, and wait for them to go to sleep."

"That's horrible Casey." Amber said astonished. "You need to tell someone, this is getting out of hand."

"NO!" Casey shouted getting some attention from some nearby students. "Sorry, please don't tell anyone. I have it under control now. If I don't give them any reason to pick on me, then they back off and just forget."

"CJ…"

"Please Amber, you saw what they did after they thought I was the reason you and Lizza lost Hufflepuff points." Amber sat silently as she remembered how they broke into his trunk and stole his clothes, dumping them all over the school. "I don't want to give them more ammunition."

"Okay, Casey. I'm here if you need me." Amber honestly replied.

The pair spent another 2 hours quietly studying in the common room, or in Casey's case, reading an interesting book on Transfiguration. It was around midnight when Juliet came into the room after her patrol, and suggested that they should probably go to bed.

"Do we have to?" Amber whined, she really didn't want to walk into her dormitory room without Lizza. It felt too empty and lonely.

"No you don't, and I won't make you, but I was looking at the notice board yesterday, and I think I remember seeing something next to the lost cat poster, about a combined Herbology and DADA lesson tomorrow morning, so you might want to catch some shut eye." Juliet informed.

"That's tomorrow?" Casey sighed. "We should go to bed Amber."

Casey rose from his seat and began picking up his stuff to head back to his bed. Amber was desperate not to be alone tonight, and grabbed Casey's arm before he could move off through the dormitory's door.

"Please CJ don't go. I…. I can't bear being in that room with Lizza in the hospital wing."

"Look if I could come with you, I would, but I can't. It's just one night Amber, I'll see you in the morning." Casey reasoned.

"What if I came with you? Girls can enter the boys dorms unhindered." Amber blushed slightly at suggestion. "Besides, don't you want a friend with you in case the boys try something?"

"Um…. I'm not against the idea." Amber eyes shot up hopefully. "But I couldn't live with myself if you got caught in the crossfire, just because of some stupid prank they pulled. Listen to your gut Amber. I'm sorry, but you can't come with me."

Casey pulled away from Amber, and moved through the portal into the boy's dormitories, leaving a lonely Amber behind. With nowhere else to go, Amber sulked back to her dormitory, and tried to get to sleep. Without Lizza's ambient heating charms, Amber struggled to find any.

Amber and Casey struggled to get up the next morning. With how late they stayed up last night, they had to miss breakfast so they could get to class on time.

Amber's gut feeling was correct however. The boys did play a prank on Casey during the night, and covered his bed with pink and gold glitter, that got into practically everything. Even though Amber had to sleep in an empty dormitory, she was grateful Casey hadn't let her come with him last night.

"Stop flicking your hair CJ. You're getting glitter everywhere." Two showers had done little to remove the glitter from his hair.

"Well here's some for missing out last night" Casey tried to deliberately flick his hair towards Amber.

"Get away from me." Amber laughed with a shove. "Thanks though."

"Thanks for what?"

"For making me trust my gut."

"Oh," Casey said. "No problem."

"It's a shame we can't room together," Amber said solemnly, "Those boys are horrible to you."

"They're not that bad, it's all in good fun." Casey quietly replied, before breaking into a grin. "Besides, if I didn't share a room with them, I wouldn't be so fabulous today."

Casey pirouetted on the cobble stone steps, and did a graceful curtsey for Amber, who rolled her eyes whilst laughing. "You're such a dag CJ."

Without Lizza with them, the two made their way down to the green houses, where Professors Sprout and Longbottom waited for them. They carried giant spray tins under their arms, and they chatted idly, whilst waiting for the rest of the 1st year students to arrive; it seemed their entire year would be in this class.

Once everyone was there, Professor Longbottom addressed the class. "Alright 1st years. Today we are doing something a little different than usual. Since our Defence and Herbology classes are back to back, Professor Sprout and I thought it'd be good to get in some practical skills that will benefit both classes,"

"As you all know parts of the grounds are infested with Fire Berry Vines, and today we are going to be removing a section of the infestation, near the school's pumpkin patch. If all goes well we'll get to have some pumpkin juice later tonight, for the first time this year."

Murmurs shot up through the class ranging from: 'I thought that area was out of bounds?" to "Oh god, what the hell are they going to get us to do now?"

"Settle down class," Professor Sprout said, taking over from Professor Longbottom. "Removing Fire Berry Vines is fairly straight forward, since Professor Slughorn has finished the pesticide, used to get rid of them. Come along, we'll explain everything once we are down in the grounds."

The students obeyed, and followed the Professors. Chatting nervously amongst themselves about today's lesson.

"I hope this doesn't involve too much wand work." Amber whispered to Casey.

"Why's that." Casey asked.

"Because I don't want miss cast a spell and hurt someone."

"You'll be fine Amber; we got _two_ teachers with us, what's the worst that could happen?"

But Casey forgot, that that no one should ever, _EVER,_ say those words.

"Alright class gather around in a semicircle." Professor Longbottom announced. They had stopped a dozen or so meters away from the Vine infestation. A small table that had a pile of boxes underneath them, stood in the centre of the gathering.

"Alright, so, Fire Berry Vines can be very dangerous if one doesn't know how to deal with them correctly. What makes them a Dark plant is that their fruit gives off a sweet smell, to lure in foolish creatures to their doom. The fruit when cut or damaged, explodes, sending out a viciously hot acid that can burn through clothes and skin." To make a point Professor Longbottom sent a curse towards the infestation of Vines, which exploded, sending acid everywhere, and shooting a rock high into the air with black smoke trailing behind it.

"Now, Professor Slughorn has whipped up a pesticide for us that dries up the Wines, rendering them harmless." To show the class, Professor Longbottom brought out from behind the table a potted stalk of the Fire Berry Vines, and sprayed it with the pesticide from the giant tin can.

"As you know, we've been practicing the severing charms in class for the last week, and this will provide a good opportunity to practice the spell. To truly finish off the plant, one must cut it from its roots. _Diffindo!"_ Professor Longbottom's charm cut straight through the stalk of the plant, causing it wither up and die, leaving behind a shrivelled vine.

Professor Sprout nodded kindly to Professor Longbottom, and then stepped forward to address the class. "At the start of the year you all made burn salves with Professor Slughorn. Now we have selected a few of the best brewed ones and have brought them down with us today. This however, IS NOT, an excuse to go about and misbehave. These plants are perfectly safe once sprayed, and will give you some good practical experience. So long, as you act, responsibly."

Professor Sprout looked at each student one by one to make sure her point had gotten across. Once she was satisfied, she divided the class in two, and took half of them with her, to work on a section a little further down the path.

"All righty then, the rest of you are with me." Professor Longbottom ordered, motioning them to move down towards the vines. They all stood a bit further back as Professor Longbottom sprayed the vines by himself, just to be on the safe side. Amber was getting a tinsy bit nervous, about moving closer to the vines.

In groups of 3 at a time, the 1st years moved forward to tackle the vines, sending there Severing Charms into them; cutting them lose from there stalks. Occasionally a student wouldn't concentrate, and accidently aimed a spell to high, causing the vines further in - that hadn't been sprayed - to send acid over the 1st year. Professor Longbottom however was ready for such an instance, and effortlessly blocked the spray with a well-placed 'Shield Charm'.

Even with Professor Longbottom's and Professor Sprout's quick wand work, a Ravenclaw student did get burnt, as they accidently stepped on berry that how somehow missed being sprayed. Professor Sprout was quick on the ball though, and had a Salve applied within seconds. Leaving the student with nothing more than a faint red mark on their leg.

Amber was relived once she had finished her turn. She only once miss-casted one of her spells badly enough, for Professor Longbottom to cover her. Done, she dragged the dead vines she had cut, over to the rubbish pile, and re-joined Casey at the back, waiting for the others to finish.

"See it wasn't so bad. Professor Longbottom only had to save you once; he had to save Bones 3 times, he was getting so over confident." Casey reminded.

"I know, I know. It was still nerve racking though. You're up next aren't you?"

"Yup! Looking forward to blowing off some steam, after all the crap I had to deal with this morning." Casey said eagerly.

"Just don't get too carried away. Remember what you said about Bones." Amber cautioned.

"I won't." Casey replied. He then stepped forward to take his turn.

Amber was watching her friend take his turn, when she overheard Melanie and Raylea arguing.

"Come on do it Raylea. Hit Glitter Boy with the same Jinx we use in Binn's class, you know it's probably him and those annoying Muffleduffs that did it." Melanie said to Raylea.

"We don't know that for sure." Raylea replied uncertain. "I don't know Mel, Professor Longbottom doesn't like us mucking around in his class."

"Just cast the Jinx at the same time Glitter Boy casts _Diffindo._ He'll think he's just been burnt." Amber was shocked that they would even think to try something. Professor Sprout had specifically told them all not to mess about.

"If you're so eager why don't you do it Mel?" Raylea countered.

"Because _I,_ gave the Hufflepuff boys the idea for the glitter bomb prank yesterday. I mean, did you see Glitter Boy this morning, he looked hilarious."

"I'll admit, the prank was funny. But I'm still not jinxing him; I've had enough of detentions for one year." Raylea crossed her arms in defiance.

"Fine, I'll do it then." Melanie withdrew her wand, and pointed it at Casey's back. Amber wasn't going to let this go down again, he was having a bad enough day as it is.

Amber marched up to Melanie and Raylea. "You curse him, and I swear I'm going to punch your lights out."

"Of course you'll punch my lights out, instead trying to Hex me like any self-respecting witch would do." Melanie taunted right back.

"Lower your wand Shapell, I'm warning you." Amber said through gritted teeth.

"Make me." Melanie scoffed.

Amber lunged for Melanie's wand and managed to get a hand on it. Causing both witches to struggle with each other, as they each tried to gain control of Melanie's wand. The commotion, had stopped the class, and everyone turned around to watch the fight, with Professor Longbottom walking over to stop it.

He would have too, if Melanie and Amber hadn't of accidently set off wayward curse.

With two witches vying for control over the same wand, in addition moving it around erratically, the wand became confused, and discharged a jet of white magic.

A jet of magic, that was headed straight for Casey.

The resulting scream of pain, was blood curdling. Casey took the curse straight in the chest, and it sent him backwards head over heels. Landing harshly in the Fire Berry Vines.

As soon as Professor Longbottom heard the boy's scream, he sprang into action, and quickly pulled Casey out of the Vines with a 'Levitation charm'.

Casey was crying in pain. Half his back and his right arm, were severely covered in burns, with other patches all over his body. Luckily he had raised his arms when he landed, and nothing splashed into his face or eyes.

Professor Sprout was on the scene nearly just as quick, and helped Professor Longbottom treat the burns with a salve. After a solid minute, with two teachers working in tandem, Casey's pain finally subsided, to a level in which he wasn't crying any more. Professor Longbottom then scooped Casey up, and headed for the castle.

"Not to worry Jands, something like this happened to me in my 1st year. Madam Pomfrey will have you fixed up in no time."

Amber was about to run after them, when Professor Sprout grabbed her by the arm. "You stay McKinnon."

"But," Amber stopped mid-sentence when she saw Professor Sprouts face. She was furious.

"Alright, who can tell what happened here for Mr Jands to be taken to the hospital wing."

"Those two were fighting and accidently set off a random curse that accidently hit Jands." Melanie and Amber were both shocked to see that the person who had spoken up, was Raylea.

"Can anyone else confirm this?" Professor Sprout asked the rest of the class. A few students nodded in agreement.

"I only…."

"Not. A. Word. McKinnon." Professor Sprout snarled, cutting Amber off sharply. "I am _absolutely appalled_ at your conduct. I strictly informed both of you, the dangers that fooling around in this particular class would cause, and you both went ahead and did it anyway."

Amber just looked at the ground, tears forming in her eyes. She had only confronted Melanie because she didn't want Casey to get hurt. But in the end, he got hurt anyway, probably worse than if she had did nothing.

"30 points will be taken from each you for fighting. And further 30 points for your stupidity." Professor Sprout said finally deflating. "You two will sit on that log, until the end of class, since you both can't be trusted to participate anymore, and I better not hear a peep out of either of you."

Amber and Melanie did as instructed.

As it was a double class, with the break incorporated in the middle of it. Amber sat on that log for an hour and a half. Naturally, at the end of class, Professor Sprout and Professor Longbottom –who had returned to teach after taking Casey to the hospital wing- gave them another lecture on fighting, and of course, informed them that they had detention. Since Amber was a Hufflepuff, she was to serve her detention with Professor Longbottom, she felt this was the lesser of two evils.

The rest of Amber's day proceeded with her being miserable. Her only two friends at Hogwarts were in the Infirmary, and she wasn't even able to go visit them, because she had detention. At least she didn't have to dig holes, _without_ magic, like Professor Sprout made Melanie do. Instead, Professor Longbottom had her clean his classroom top to bottom; apparently, she would be doing this once a week until the end of term.

The worst part of her night however, was when she returned to the common room. With both her friends sick, one of which because of her. Amber retreated to her lonely room and collapsed onto her bed.

Clutching the pin Saffron gave to her at the start of the year, Amber thought to herself for the first time ever, that: 'Hogwarts isn't as great, as it's made out to be.'


	10. Chapter 10: The Lonely Hufflepuff

**Chapter Ten: The Lonely Hufflepuff**

Casey stared up at the near full moon, as he lay awake in the hospital wing. Being burnt by Fire Berry Vines hurts, _a lot,_ and those very burns still felt warm against his skin. It was the reason after all, why he couldn't get to sleep tonight. The mental image of a white jet of magic hitting him square in the chest, and then just a world of pain, was just too prevalent.

Lizza was here when he was brought in by Professor Longbottom the other day, but due to the pain of the burns, he passed out pretty quickly, and slept straight through the night. He had gotten to see Lizza this morning when he woke, but it was short lived, as Madam Pomfrey had dismissed her from the Hospital wing, and sent her to class, leaving him alone once again.

Casey was used to being alone. He had spent most of his life as, 'that strange kid', after all, but now that he had some worth wild friends, he actually felt lonely that they weren't around.

"Can't sleep either?" A voiced whispered beside him.

Painfully rolling onto his side, Casey turned over to see his potions partner Noah, also lying on his side, looking a little pale.

"Yeah, dam burns are keeping me up." Casey complained. "Why can't you sleep?"

"Still feel pretty lousy, I was sick last night, still feels like I'm about to throw up every few minutes."

"Sounds like crap."

"Yeah it is."

"So what happened down at the cabbage patch yesterday?" Noah questioned. "I overheard Madam Pomfrey saying you go burnt or something?"

"A stray curse knocked me into the Fire Berry Vines." Casey replied.

"Ouch! I've been burnt by those Vines before, that's gotta suck. Who cursed you?"

"I think my best friend did." Casey said, trying to recall the memory.

"Amber knocked you into the vines!? What'd did you do to piss her off." Noah asked surprised.

"Nothing, I think she was fighting with Melanie at the time. Honestly I don't know what happened. It's all kind of a blur."

"Melanie is a bit of you know…. Female dog…. So that figures." Casey chuckled at Noah's attempt not to swear. "Has Amber at least come to see how you're going?"

"No she hasn't. I think she might be avoiding me."

"Why though? That makes no sense," Noah said confused, "If I hurt my best friend, I'd want to see them the first chance I got, you know, to apologies."

"Same, that's why it's so out of character for her."

"Girls, who can understand them." Noah shrugged as best he could whilst lying down.

"Yeah," Casey whispered, "I'm going to try and sleep now Noah. 'Night."

"I should as well. 'Night."

Casey was finally able to leave the hospital wing a few days later, he was still a bit sore, but he was bored enough that the prospect of class enticed him.

What he was most looking forward to however, was catching up with Amber and Lizza. Neither of them had swung by the infirmary at any point during his stay, and he desperately wanted to grill them as to why. The theory of them avoiding him, was now a very high possibility.

When Casey turned the corner into his Transfiguration class, he was greeted by a very surprised Amber. He was about to sit down next to her, when she quickly changed seats and sat next to Derek. It was quite well known that Amber hated Derek, so Casey's surprise matched Amber's. As far as he knew, Derek had a crush on her, so it was just painful to watch her uncomfortably squirm next to him. It was obvious Amber wasn't interested.

And so began the week long game of tag. Casey would try to corner Amber to talk to her, and Amber would do everything she could to avoid him. Casey particularly hated it when Amber ran into her dormitory; to him it felt like cheating. Lizza became so fed up with what was happening between her two friends, that she refused to talk to either of them, until they quote: "Sorted out what you both have stuck up your shit holes."

It was just after lunch on Saturday, when Casey finally managed to gain some ground. Casey had seen Amber go into the bathroom on the 3rd floor, and decided to wait for her to come out.

"Amber can we please talk." Casey pleaded with his friend, when she exited the bathroom. Amber stood frozen for a moment, before the rest of her caught up.

"Sorry Casey, I got practice with Professor Hackle." Amber blurted out, and then proceeded to pace down the corridor.

"Amber, you practice with Professor Hackle on Friday's, today is Saturday. Plus, you're going in the _complete_ opposite direction of the Muggle studies classroom."

"No I'm not." Amber said picking up her pace.

"Yes you are, now won't you please talk to me." Casey grabbed Amber's arm to try and slow her down, only for her to twist out of it.

With no other option, Casey quickly looked around to make sure no one was looking. He then tried his next stupid idea.

 _"Locomotor Wibbly."_ The curse connected with Amber, with the same precision as the one Raylea had hit him with earlier in the year.

Amber had instinctively stopped walking when she heard someone cast a spell, and was surprised to find out, that not only was she the target, but Casey had casted the curse.

"What the? When did you learnt how to cast the Jelly-Legs curse?" Amber said astonished, right before she realised that he had done. "Wait. YOU CURSED ME?!"

"I.… Well yes I did, but-"Casey tried to reply. But before he could finish, Amber started trying to slap him from her position on the floor, prompting Casey to move back, lest he suffer from her tirade.

"Break the curse now! Or I'm not going to talk to you. I know you know the counter curse." Amber folded her arms and refused to look Casey in the eyes.

"Sorry, here. _Locomotor Mobilius."_ Amber had helped Casey for two weeks after their first incident with Melanie and Raylea, to learn the Jelly-Legs counter curse. He swore he wouldn't be vulnerable like that again.

What Amber didn't know though, was after he learnt the counter curse, he spent a further two weeks learning the actual curse as well. Figuring if he could already break the curse on someone, it couldn't hurt to know how to cast it as well.

Amber was still fuming once she got up and dusted herself off. "So when did you learn _that_?"

The words practically dripped out of her mouth.

"I started learning it after I figured out how to break the curse. I figured it would be useful in case we ran into Melanie and Raylea again. Fat load of good it did me that day in Herbology though."

"I see," The mention of what happened in the dual Herbology and Defence against the Dark Arts class, took a lot of the wind out of Amber's sails. "Sorry for accidentally cursing you a couple of weeks ago."

"Apology accepted, _Ember_." Casey said with a little smirk.

"Okay, I deserved that one."

Casey grinned yes. "What happened though? And why have you been avoiding me?"

"It's silly really." Amber folded her arms and looked away.

"Can you tell me? Please. It's sucked not having my best friend around."

"Okay," Amber sighed. "Well I kind of tried to stop Melanie from pricking you with an Aculee Jinx, and things sort of just… escalated. We struggled for a bit, then her wand sort of just let out this… random curse and knocked you into the Fire Berry Vines, it was weird."

"Honestly I would have preferred the Jinx. Those Vines really hurt."

"Well I know that now." Amber gave Casey a nudge in reply.

"But why did you start avoiding me?"

"I don't know." Amber said unconvincingly. "I guess. I felt like if I wasn't around, you wouldn't get hurt anymore. Whenever you get hurt or bullied, it's because of something I've done, I just make everything worse."

Tears formed in Amber's eyes and she leaned against the wall for support. Casey leant up beside her.

"Hey I don't need your help to get into trouble." It was the truth; trouble had a tendency to find him. "Believe me, _way_ more stuff happens when you're not around. That's generally when everyone tries to have a go at me. Alone I'm an easier target, plus nobody wants to mess with Liz."

Tears now threatened to spill from Casey's eyes, when he thought about all the mean pranks, that he had to endure, since he had started at Hogwarts.

"Now you got me going" The boy said tearily.

"Well Liz and I will make sure you always have a bodyguard with you." Amber gave Casey a warm smile. "Friends again?"

"We always were."

Casey felt pretty good about making up with Amber. It was nice to have his best friend back. Walking back into the Common Room, Lizza saw them and threw her hands into the air.

"It's about bloody time." The relief in her voice was golden.

The 3 of them for the first time in weeks, got their books out, and studied together in the Common Room, with Amber leading the charge, tutoring them in practically every subject. When the Common Room door opened just before 10 (to let the last few students in before curfew), the trio broke up their study session due to the noise, and started off to their dormitories.

"Sucks that we can't room together." Amber said not for the first time.

"Unfortunately with CJ being a bloke, that's going to be a tad hard while we're at Hogwarts." Lizza clarified.

"We could go stay in the boys dorms." Casey couldn't work out Amber's obsession with the boy's dormitories.

"Yeah… Nah, that ain't going to happen," Lizza shooting the idea down quickly.

"What about Polyjuice potion? We could make him look one of us, then bring him to our room." Ambers comment made Casey groan.

"I don't think that'd work Amber, Polyjuice Potion only changes you on the outside, it doesn't change what's on the inside. Besides, Hogwarts been around for centuries, ya really think someone hasn't tried that already?"

"I suppose." Amber said defeated, at the same time relieving Casey. "I wonder if there is a potion that makes someone change gender."

"Probably, I mean magic can do some pretty crazy things already. Don't see why changing genders would be all that hard considering."

"I ahhhh… think I'm going to go to bed now girls." Casey supplied a fake yawn that turned real half way through.

"Oh you love it," Amber teased before she grabbed Lizza, and headed towards their dormitory. "Night CJ."

Casey always thought that after his Hogwarts letter, nothing else could change his life quite as profoundly. The next morning would call that bet, and then raise it.

When Casey woke the next day, he noticed that none of the other 1st year boys were in the dormitory, he didn't think anything of it at first, as he had slept in; it was Sunday after all.

But after he showered and got dressed, he noticed that no one else had re-entered the room, and it was quiet, too quiet. Stowing his wand in the back pocket of his jeans, Casey cautiously looked around the room, looking for bobby traps. Just when he was feeling confident that everything was safe, he opened his dormitory door, and stepped forward through the threshold.

Only for 2 pairs of hands to grab him. Casey's resulting scream was surprisingly loud.

"God CJ," Paul said trying to cover his ears, in addition to grabbing Casey. "You scream like a girl."

"Get off me guys," Casey snapped. He breaking free of the hold they had him in to no avail. "Let me go."

"Oh we'll let you go in a second, after we've had a little fun." Oakley jibed.

Oakley Bones was the defacto leader, of the group of the 1st year Hufflepuff boys that also included, Paul Peterson, Zack Diver, and Vince O' Flaherty. They were as thick as thieves, and delighted in tormenting Casey for some reason.

They never hurt Casey physically. Humiliate him with finally crafted pranks, yes, but physically hurting him was where they drew the line. In fact, Bones actually gave Amber a verbal beat down, for sending their fellow Hufflepuff to Hospital wing; Casey was quite shocked when he heard that one after returning. As far as they were concerned, the only ones allowed to mess with Casey, were them.

"When we came in last night, I overheard an interesting conversation between you and your friends." The other boys snickered at Oakley's comment. "Seems Amber was talking about giving you a Poly-Juice potion, to sneak you into the girls dormitories. Well we thought, that being such good friends, we'd help you."

Casey's blood went cold, when they through walked the round door, into nearly empty Common Room.

"G…Guys, come on; I really don't want to be drenched in Vinegar."

"Think of it like a shower." Vince laughed.

"I've already had one." Casey panicked. "What if someone will sees us, the… the girls won't be happy."

"It's a Hogsmeade weekend, practically all of the 3rd years and up, have left the Castle." Nick's grin grew wider and wider as he talked.

"And I don't think the two 2nd years in here, will mind if we have a bit of fun." Oakley asked the two 2nd year boys, who were catching up on some homework, before Quidditch practice.

"So long as you clean up after yourselves and don't hurt him, I don't care." Zander Stump responded. Frank Truman just shrugged.

"See," Oakley replied. "We'll even mop up the mess, if you play along."

"No way in hell I'm going to co-operate." Casey defied. "You'll have to push me through."

"Oh, we intended to." Nick confirmed. He then opened the door to the girl's dormitories.

Casey desperately tried to break free of the boys hold, but 4 on 1 wasn't exactly a fair fight. He made one last ditch effort and tried to reach for his wand, but to his horror, his back pocket was empty. Before Casey could think of a new strategy, Vince and Paul pushed him hard in the back, sending him careening through the doorway.

Casey braced himself for the oncoming wave of Vinegar, but instead, the momentum of the push made him trip forward and caused him to land, a couple of meters beyond the threshold. Turning around onto his back, Casey sat up, and looked up at dumbstruck faces of his antagonist's.

He then realised what had just happened.

What appeared to happen in slow motion, Casey saw Paul mouth the words 'what the hell', and then take a cursory step forward through the doorway. The moment his foot touched the other side, a trap door that Casey didn't even know existed, opened above his head, and blasted out a torrent of vinegar. The force was so powerful, that it knocked Paul onto his backside, and sent him sliding into the Common Room.

The noise of the vat opening, and the proceeding Caterwauling Charm, was loud enough to alert all the remaining members of Hufflepuff house. Casey heard doors open up behind him, so he turned, and saw the terribly confused faces of Amber and Lizza. A few girls from other year levels, also stood around with mouths gaping.

Everyone who came out of their rooms, just stared at the scene before them; boys from the common room, and girls from their hallway. Piece by piece, the onlookers started to put things together.

Emotions overwhelmed Casey. His thoughts moved so fast that, he became confused, and couldn't think how to react. Should he cry, should he burst out in laughter, should she start yelling?

Casey caught his internal monologue. 'Should, _she,_ start yelling?'

"Shit." Casey uttered. His fight or flight reflex kicked into high gear, and right now, it was telling him flight.

Before anyone could stop him, Casey leapt to his feet and bolted towards the Common Room door; surprisingly not slipping on the vinegar as he went. Amber and Lizza tried calling out to him, but their cries fell on deaf ears.

Running out of the Common Room, Casey had no idea where his legs were carrying him. He wandered the castle for hours, taking him as high as the astronomy tower, and as far Quidditch pitch. Many students tried to ask him what was wrong, but he just ignored them and kept walking.

His thoughts kept revolving around the scene in the hallway. Being pushed, not being ejected, and then his friend's stunned faces.

Why? Why now? This wasn't how she wanted this secret to be revealed. 'He', 'She', Casey didn't know what pronoun to use anymore. Their world had been shattered earlier this morning.

In the end, Casey found themselves sitting alone, in the school boat house, with their knees brought up to their chest; their nails dug painfully into their arms.

"CJ? You in here?" Amber's soft voice caught Casey off guard. They turned and looked at her, but didn't answer. "Oh, Casey."

Casey watched as their best friend came and sat down beside them; enveloping them in a long hug. Any other day this action would have been welcomed, but today, Casey just felt hollow.

The two sat in silence for a while, neither wanting to be the first one to say anything. Eventually though, Amber's patience wore out.

"Want to talk about it?" Amber delicately asked.

Casey shook their head. They sat in silence for a little longer.

"You know, no matter what you are, you'll still be my best friend CJ." For all of Amber's tactlessness, sometimes, she could say the right thing at the right time.

"Thanks Amber." Casey whispered back.

"Talk to me CJ." Amber squeezed her friend's hand. "We're best friends. If we can get over me sending you to the hospital wing, we can get over this. You can trust me."

"I don't even know where to start," Casey mumbled. "You'll think I'm a weird freak."

"CJ, were both…. able to use Magic. I mean take yesterday for instance, we both levitated feathers across the room," Casey raised an eyebrow. "Okay, _you_ , managed to levitate a feather across the room. Of course you're a weird freak. I'm a weird freak; everyone in this school is a weird freak."

"Not exactly making me feel better here Amber."

"Look, my point is, as far as the world's concerned, we're weird. So who cares what they think? If they have an issue with us being weird, we can just hex them." This at the very least earned a half chuckle. "There's nothing you can say that's going to make me think any less of you. You're my best friend remember, how many times am I going to have to say that before you get it."

It wasn't until after Amber had finished making her point, that Casey realised she had avoided using any pronouns in reference to them.

"Okay I'll tell you, but I have a feeling you already know what's up." Casey sighed.

"It's about what happened this morning, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Let me know if I get this wrong. But I'm guessing, being pushed into the girl's dorm, and then watching that dumbass Peterson get drenched in vinegar – and you not getting drenched yourself - made you realise..." Amber pausing, not sure if she should continue. "...that you wished you were a girl?"

Casey shamefully nodded. "Now you're going to think I'm weird."

Amber fed up with her friends constant self-attacking, clipped Casey across the back of the head. "Idiot! Have you not being listening to what I've been saying. I don't care if you're weird. Boy, Girl. _Whatever!_ You're still going to be my best friend."

"Sorry, I guess I've been a little whingey." Casey conceded.

"A _little_?"

"Okay a lot."

Silence reigned once again. The conversation wasn't over - Casey could feel that - but things just became a little awkward. Amber uncomfortably sat next to them, and Casey wasn't sure what to say next, or how they were going to say it if they could. Fortunately, Amber was good with dealing with elephants in the room, awkwardness be damned.

"So…. You want to be a girl." Amber clicked her heels against the box they were sitting on.

"Yeah, but I don't even know where to start with that. Everything this morning just made things… more complicated. I don't even know what I am anymore."

"Well if this morning is anything to go by, I think you already know the answer to that question." Amber said bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Casey said, confusion rising.

"Well, remember what Liz said last night about Polyjuice potions."

"Yeah, what about it?"

Amber sighed in frustration. "Remember how she said even if you take the potion. it doesn't change what you are on the inside. The Castle will still see that deep down you're a boy. and kick you out. If that's true, then that also means the opposite is true."

"And…"

" _And…_ this morning you got pushed into the girl's dorm, and the Castle didn't kick you out."

It was then that Casey got it. Even though Casey still sort of looked like a boy, when Peter and Vince pushed them through the doorway, the Castle saw deep down what Casey truly was, and decided, not to kick them out.

The Castle saw what Casey felt.

It saw her as a girl.

"I guess that makes sense as to why there's three beds in our dormitory." Amber mused, snapping Casey out of her thoughts.

"What?"

"Well I always thought it was weird, that our dorm had 3 beds in it, even though it was only Liz and I sleeping in there. Lizza always thought it was just a spare, but I always wondered you know?"

Casey was a little surprised to hear that. She was half expecting Amber to scream for joy when she realised that Casey could now room with them. After all, Amber had been going on about it since they were sorted into Hufflepuff. But now, Amber just seemed relaxed with it, like it was a certainty, and wasn't worth worrying about.

"How long have you wondered? You know, that I was a girl deep down?" Casey asked.

"Promise you won't be mad." Amber nervously replied.

"Why would I be mad?"

"Because… Um, I sort of started suspecting right around the time we got our wands?"

"What!?" Casey yelped. "That was when we first met!"

"Sorry, it… it… it was just after Mr Ollivander told me what kind of wand you had, then the fact you let me play with your hair. And what he said afterwards got me thinking…" Amber was babbling now, trying to maintain damage control, but Casey just deflated at her friend's words.

"Am I really that obvious?" Casey sulked.

"No… Well yes…"

Casey shot Amber a dirty look.

"It's not your fault. Honestly, I don't think anyone else even came _close_ , to putting two and two together before today. Come on CJ, even you have to admit, you're a little bit girly." Amber said gently.

"I was trying to make sure no one noticed." Casey was positively sulking now, all the hard work, that she had thought she had put into hiding her true nature, was coming undone.

"Well normally yes, you hide it pretty well. But whenever you're around Liz or I, your real personality kind of peeks through. Haven't you noticed, that even the teachers sometimes mistake you for a girl when you're around us, particularly over the last few weeks?"

Casey didn't answer, she knew Amber was right.

"Honestly, I don't think it's a bad thing you got found out." Amber said.

"How could this possibly be a good thing?" Casey's voice rising slightly.

"Well now you can just be yourself, plus you won't have to sleep with those idiots anymore and..." Amber said giving Casey a nudge. "You'll have the same 'protections' the rest of us girls have from them."

"I suppose so. The guys were never happy with me being in the same dorm room as them anyhow. Especially after the first night."

"What happened on the first night?" Amber queried.

"Well it's like you said, I don't think the Castle wanted me sleeping there. When we first got to the dorm rooms, there were only 6 beds in the room. We had to find a Prefect to get us an extra bed."

"See, as if you needed any more evidence." Amber said triumphantly. "You do want this don't you? The whole girl thing?"

"Amber with everything that's happened to me so far, I think I already am this."

"Good." Amber leaned over and gave Casey her yet another hug. The changing of positions this time however, caused Casey's stomach to growl loudly. "Girl, when was the last time you had something to eat."

"You're going to call me, ' _girl_ ', as often as you can now aren't you?"

"Absolutely." Amber smiled, with absolutely no shame whatsoever.

The walk back to the Castle wasn't long but they did take their time. Mostly because Casey was freaking out about what was going to happen when she got back. She was pretty sure there was going to be teachers involved which made her just plum nervous.

"I hate dealing with teachers; things always get worse with them involved." Casey fretted. Her nervousness of being expelled was growing rapidly. "If I'm going down, I'm making sure Bones and his rag tag group of knuckle heads, gets what's coming to them."

"Oh, that reminds me." Amber said blushing slightly, before reaching into her jacket. "Here's your wand."

"What the? Why do you have my wand?" Casey curiously asked, practically snatching back her most prized possession.

"Well you see, after you raced out of the common room, Liz went ballistic. She and some of the other girls jinxed the crap out of Bones, Diver and O'Flaherty. They then dunked them in vinegar the same way they were trying to dunk you. Anyway when they dunked O'Flaherty, I saw your wand roll out of his pocket, so grabbed it for you."

"I wish I had of seen it." Casey wished.

"It was pretty awesome. Professor Sprout didn't even punish Liz and the girls. She said it was 'the boy's own dumb fault, for coming up with such a stupid prank'. She did take 10 points off Hufflepuff though, but I think she was being lenient."

"Yeah sounds like it. Professor Sprout hates taking points of Hufflepuff."

"She wants to see you by the way. There are a few teachers and prefects out looking for you."

"Yippee." Sarcasm evident in Casey's voice. "Hang on, if they were out looking for me how did you find me first?"

"Ah…. lucky guess?" Amber was trying to avoid eye contact.

"Spill."

"Fine." Amber sighed. She then pulled out a small golden Spyglass from her back pocket. "I found you using this."

"You found me using a Spyglass? How on earth was this helpful indoors?"

"Look through it at the wall." Amber ordered.

Taking the Spyglass, Casey looked through the lens and pointed it at a random wall.

"Holy crap! This thing can see through walls?" Casey exclaimed.

"Yes it can." Amber gritted, snatching her spy glass from her friends hands. "And I'd appreciate it, if you didn't go around yelling it out to everyone. I get the feeling I probably shouldn't have it at school."

"Yeah fair enough." Casey still in disbelief. "That's a damn useful thing to have. Where on earth did you get it?"

"It's was my Mum's." Amber said solemnly, hugging the Spyglass close to her chest. "Dad said that I shouldn't tell Saffron in case…."

"Jands! Where have you been!?" Professor Sprout had just rounded the corner ahead of them, and had cut Amber off. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Sorry Professor. I… I just needed some time alone." Casey uttered.

"I trust the reason for your return is McKinnons doing?" Amber quickly hid her Spyglass behind her back hoping Professor Sprout didn't notice.

"Yes Professor, I found her… I mean, I found CJ down by the boats." Amber bit her lip unsure about how she should address her friend.

"The boat house, why didn't I think to look down there." The Professor mused. "Come on Jands, the Headmistress wants a word with you."

"I'm not in any trouble am I?" Casey nervously replied.

"Good heavens no. It's not your fault what those boys did to you. But the Headmistress would still like a word about what happened."

Casey audibly gulped. Her nerves rising quickly.

"Come on then, let's not keep the Headmistress waiting." Casey barely had time to wave goodbye to Amber, before Professor Sprout whisked her off to the Headmistresses office.

Professor Sprout moved quickly, and led Casey to an area of the castle she had never been before. They came before a stone statue of a gargoyle, if one looked closely you could still see cracks and nicks from a battle long past.

"Password?" The Gargoyle asked, making Casey jump.

"Gingerbread." Professor Sprout replied.

The Statue turned around, revealing a spiral staircase behind it. Professor Sprout motioned for Casey to follow.

Casey stepped through the door at the top of the stairs, into the circular office of the Headmistress. The room was filled with all sorts of various knick knacks and silvery objects. Portraits of Headmasters and Headmistresses long past all lined the walls. Some were asleep, some were awake, and some were just not there. Casey even spotted the Sorting Hats resting place, as it seemed to snooze (if hat's could snooze that is), on its perch on a claw footed table.

Casey wished she had more time to examine the room, but Professor Sprout grabbed her attention first.

"Headmistress, I've brought Jands up to see you." Professor Sprout motioned Casey to come up to the Headmistress's desk, whilst she herself took a position beside it.

Professor McGonagall peered over the top of her glasses, to look at Casey when she came and stepped up before her. "How are you feeling my dear?"

"Um, nervous Professor." Casey timidly replied.

"You have nothing to be nervous about. I only wanted to talk about what happened in your Common Room this morning. You're not in any trouble." Professor McGonagall's gaze was firm, but sincere, though, that did nothing to ease Casey's nervousness. "I am sorry to ask this question of you straight up Casey, but I do need to know the answer, no lying please."

Casey nodded.

"Did you use magic to allow yourself to enter the girl's dormitory?"

"N…No Professor, I was pushed in by Paul and Vince." Casey truthfully replied.

Professors McGonagall and Sprout, both gave an audible sigh of relief. "I thought so my dear, I had to ask however. It's been awhile since we have had one, hasn't it Pomona."

"Since before Potter was here I believe." Professor Sprout smiled back.

"Casey, is there anything you like to tell me?" Only kindness remained in Professor McGonagall's eyes. Confirming to Casey that the Headmistress and her Head of House, had probably already had an idea of what was going on.

"I'm not sure how to Professor, it's really embarrassing." Coming out to Amber was one thing, she was her best friend. Coming out to the Headmistress, was something entirely different.

"Just tell us in your own words Casey. Don't be scared, we won't judge."

Thinking back to what Amber had said to her down at the docks, Casey took a deep breath and began her story.

"S…Since I was little, I always felt something was wrong, and I don't mean the strange stuff that happened around me, because of my magic. I mean something inside. When I found out that I was… That I could do magic, I thought: 'This is my chance to make all the wrongness go away',"

"When Paul and Vince pushed me into the girl's dormitory… I don't know, it was like, everything I was feeling suddenly became real. Like what I felt wasn't fake. But I was scared of how people would react, and I kind of freaked out. Amber found me down by the boats, and we talked. She made me realise that I'm… I'm a girl on the inside."

When Casey finished she was crying again. Professor Sprout came over and rubbed her back, while the emotions of the day overwhelmed her.

"It's alright dear. Thank you for telling us, you not the first student to set off the Caterwauling Charms, or find themselves in a dormitory that they previously thought they couldn't access." Professor Sprout's soothing voice calmed Casey down enough, so they could continue the conversation. She was surprised to hear that she wasn't the first.

"I believe the question now is, where to go from here?" Professor McGonagall regained her attention. "What would you like to do Casey?"

"I have a choice?" Casey sniffled.

"Of course you do." The Professor replied, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"But… But I thought I'd be expelled." Casey's imagination getting the better of her.

"Whatever made you think you were going to be expelled?" Both Professor's were confused at Casey's confession.

"Well… I… I don't know."

"Casey," Professor McGonagall addressing the girl's panic. "We aren't going to expel you for being yourself. That would be ludicrous. Expulsion is only used in the most extreme of cases."

"Oh," Casey said feeling quite silly.

"The question still remains my dear. What would you like to do from here?" Professor McGonagall bringing them back on topic.

"I don't know, what choices do I have?" Casey asked curiously.

"Well we have a few options," Professor McGonagall began. "If you wish, you may start attending school as a witch, or you can remain as you are now. Either way, with what has occurred today, the situation regarding your dormitory will have to be looked at. Another option available to you, is to transfer to one of the other Magical schools around the globe, and start afresh, _if,_ that is what you want. We are fortunate that we only have one week left of term before the Christmas Holidays, so it affords you some time, if you will, to think about your decision."

Those were a lot of options, and Casey mulled over them for a moment. Staying as she was now was out, with what happened in the common room, it would practically be impossible to do that without the rumour mill going crazy. Half the school already knew about what happened this morning anyway.

Attending a different school piqued her interest. Resetting to '0', with nobody knowing who she was, sounded really cool, but once she realised she'd have to leave Amber and Lizza behind, the choice became clear.

"If possible Professor, I… I would like to attend school as a witch please."

"You sure?" Professor Sprout asked.

Casey nodded her reply. She wasn't 100% sure if she wanted this, but great big portion of her did. 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained' she figured.

"Very well, Miss Jands." Casey's heart leapt when Professor McGonagall addressed her. "In the meantime, I think it will be beneficial for you to stay in the hospital wing for the remainder of the week. The Hogwarts Express will return on Saturday, to take you back to London for Christmas. If you return from the break, and still wish to proceed with this course, Professor Sprout will move your belongings into the girl's dormitories. Will you be alright with this arrangement for the time being?"

"Yes, thank you Professor." Casey said with a smile.

"I'll also be writing to your parents this week explaining the situation to them, and of course what happened this morning," Casey's stomach plummeted; of course her parents would be involved. "If they consent, I will have Professor Slughorn begin brewing the Genus Invertus Potion when you return."

"Genus Invertus Potion? What's that?" Casey's curiosity piqued.

"It's a potion that inverts your gender love," Professor Sprout confirmed behind her. "Although it only changes your outward appearance, it doesn't change your anatomy so to speak."

"Oh." Casey said deflating a bit. "Is there a way to you know… change everything else…"

"Yes there is. " Professor McGonagall revealed. "However it requires some extraordinarily advanced transfiguration, that is well beyond even that of even N.E.W.T level spell work. I will not go into the details of the spell with you now, because I am quite certain it will go well over your head, but take heart in the fact, that is one that exists."

"I guess I shouldn't complain. I always wondered if there was like a magic spell or something that'd change me in an instant. I shouldn't be upset that once I have found it, it'll take a while before I can use it."

"That was very mature of you Casey." Professor McGonagall praised. "I however must warn you, not to try and attempt any Human transfiguration on yourself before then. The results of failed Transfigurations can be disastrous, and it could permanently disfigure you to the point, where, what you desire most, becomes impossible."

"Yes Professor."

"Your word Miss Jands. Your word that you won't attempt anything without either mine or Professor Rockfields supervision."

"I promise."

"Very well, then." Professor McGonagall finished. "If there isn't anything else, Pomona would you mind taking Miss Jands to the Hospital wing. I'll have a chat to Poppy later this evening."

"Of course, Minerva." Professor Sprout was already making for the door. "Come along Jands."

"Right, thank you Professor McGonagall." Casey then chased after her Head of House.

Casey didn't mind staying in the infirmary, for the week leading up to the Christmas break. It allowed her a moderate amount of peace and quiet. Moderate, because students at Hogwarts tend to get into mischief, mischief that tends to result in students getting sent to the hospital wing.

Practically everyone who came through the infirmary during that week, looked at Casey strangely. The rumour mill had gone into overdrive about what had happened in her Common Room, and pretty much everyone had heard some form of the story by now. People were a little weird about it, but in truth, all they wanted to know how she did it. Madam Pomfrey tolerated none of the gossip in her infirmary, and silenced anyone who tried to get anything out of Casey.

During classes, Lizza took the role of bouncer from Madam Pomfrey, and scared off anyone who wanted to get close. Lizza had taken the revelation of Casey's gender issue remarkably well, simply saying: "Well that explains a lot."

And didn't question it further.

Casey was nervous though once Saturday had finally rolled around, the ride on the train back to London, doing nothing for her nerves.

"Oh, come on CJ, it's hardly going to be as bad you say it's going to be. Telling McGonagall and Sprout went alright didn't it?" Amber was trying fruitlessly, to ease Casey's nervousness, about having to have the 'gender talk' with her parents.

"That's true, but this is totally different! You don't know my parents." Casey said trying to get her point across.

"I've meet your parents remember. I'm telling you it won't be that bad." Amber countered.

"And I'm telling you it will. They are way worse at home than when they are out in public." Casey being equally as suborn.

"Well if they are, just threatened to Jinx them. That'll shut them up."

"That'll never work! Or in case you have forgotten, we can't use magic outside of school."

"Yeah, but they don't know that." Amber said devilishly.

"They'll see through my lie, they can always tell when I'm lying."

"Oh my god, will you two girls can it! I am not dealing with your bitching all the way to London." Lizza shouted. Casey still hadn't quite gotten used to being referred to by female pronouns yet, and she occasionally wouldn't realise when someone was talking to her. This however, was not one of those cases.

"Sorry Liz." Both girls apologised to their friend. Lizza just waved them off.

"Thanks for letting me borrow Nocturne by the way Amber." Casey said breaking the silence.

"Anytime. Your sister is coming down to back you up with your parents yeah?" Amber asked.

"Yup. She'll be coming around to the house on Sunday. She was fairly surprised to see an Owl tapping on her window though. I'm just glad she had the presence of mind to write a letter back whilst Nocturne was still there." Casey remembered the mishap of sending her sister a letter. She was hoping she would be there at the station on tonight, but unfortunately one of her friends was getting married today, so she wouldn't be available until tomorrow.

"Nocturne's a pretty smart, I'm glad he found her okay." Amber nosed her owl affectionately who was currently on her lap.

"I'm just surprised that's she okay with girl you though. I just assumed with what your parent are like, she'd be the same, you know, bat shit crazy." Lizza admitted.

"Yeah my sisters cool. She was the first one to find out about girl me. She caught me sneaking into her closet when I was 7. As punishment she gave me a makeover, and took me out as her little sister. I loved and hated her for that day, it was fun though."

"Wow," Amber said amazed. "No wonder you like her so much. Pity she's not a witch like you. Could you imagine how cool it would be to attend Hogwarts with your big sister?"

"I won't lie, she was pretty jealous when I got my letter. But once she realised she wasn't overly interested in learning about magic, she told me to study twice as hard for her. I'm looking forward to showing her what I've learnt."

"Suck's that you can't _actually_ show her anything though." Lizza commented.

"Yeah I know, but I've got most of my text books and stuff in my bag. So hopefully that'll be enough to convince her how awesome Hogwarts is. I'm looking forward to catching up with her."

"No, what you're looking forward to, is going shopping with her." Amber said with a giant smirk.

"I can neither confirm nor deny if that is the case." The grin on Casey's face betrayed her.

"Yeah, and I'm captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. You're full of shit CJ; you are so going to drag your sister to the shops first chance you get."

"Sooooo, Liz, thought about whatcha' going to say to your parents?" Casey rapidly changed the subject to get Amber off her case. Amber just laughed at her friends antics.

"That was a weak arse deflection Jands." Lizza was pretty miffed.

"So sue me, I'm done talking about my family." Casey defied. "Gotten any closer to your decision."

"No! And tying to pressure me into talking about it isn't helping." Lizza shouted.

"Sorry Liz, I didn't mean to upset you. We'll talk about something else." Casey came over to her Australian friend, and pulled her into a hug. She looked like she could use one Casey thought.

"No, you're just trying to be a good friend. Honestly… Honestly it's me who's being a lousy friend."

"How so Liz?" Amber leaned forward in her seat.

"Well it's like. I'm considering going to school back in Australia. Which is like, totally selfish of me, because I'd be leaving you both here, but, if I don't go back, I'll be miserable and homesick. It's… I want to go home. but I don't want to abandon either of you girls. It just sucks either way… and… and… I just can't decide." Lizza ended her sentence with tears rolling down her face.

Casey heart melted, she had no idea Lizza thought so much of her and Amber. Sure they'd been through a lot, but it'd only been 3 ½ months since they had met. Had they really bonded that much?

"Liz, no matter what you pick, CJ and I just want you to be happy." Casey smiled at Amber's sentiment, it was one shared by her. "Even if you pick Australia, we promise that will write to you every week to stay in touch. If you pick Hogwarts, then we'll do our best to make sure you feel like you're at home."

"Thanks girl's." Lizza mumbled.

"You're welcome Liz. Got to ask though, are you going to cry every time we get on the Hogwarts Express?" Casey added playfully.

"What about you? I thought Amber was the huggy one." Lizza gave Casey a playful shove as she spoke.

"Hey Amber's got an Owl on her lap. So someone had to hug you for her."

"You are turning into such a girl CJ." Amber quipped.

"I know! Isn't it great?"


	11. Chapter 11: Hello and Goodbye

**Chapter Eleven: Hello and Goodbye**

Amber arrived at King's Cross with her friends, just before 5pm, to the sight of Saffron, Mr Jands, and Mrs Karoonda, all of whom stood huddled in a group, waiting for them to disembark. When they finally came within earshot, the adults ended their passionate discussion about the weather, and turned to addresses their young charges. Proving that even in the wizarding world, the weather was still a hot topic of conversation.

"So how was your first term at Hogwarts?" Saffron asked.

"Eh." Was the universal reply.

"I bet." Saffron knowingly smirked. Out of all the adults, Saffron was the only who didn't look like they were about to lose it. Casey's Dad and Lizza's Mum both looked like they were going to blow a casket.

Amber barely got to say goodbye to Lizza, before her mum grabbed her by the arm and quite literally, disappeared, with a crack. Amber was so stunned that Lizza had just vanished before her eyes, that she nearly forgot to say goodbye to Casey, who was being practically dragged off her dad.

"We should be on our way too." Saffron remarked.

"Sure. Where's Dad by the way?" Amber asked earnestly. She was surprised her dad hadn't come to pick her up.

"Didn't we mention it in our last letter?"

"Mention what?"

"Your Dad's got a new job; he's working at the Port down in Southampton. He won't be back home until later tonight."

"Oh." Amber said surprised. "But why? Wouldn't that mean, he'd have to give up his job back in Canada?"

"I think we better have this conversation back at home." Saffron said earnestly.

"Okay…" Amber uncertainly replied. Saffron was being defensive; she had seen that look before. It was the same look her Dad had when she received her Hogwarts letter. They were keeping something from her. "How are getting back to McKinnon house?"

"I thought we'd try some side along Apparition." Saffron said a little too quickly. Almost as if she was bothered by Amber's presence.

"Side along Appa-what-now? What is that?" Amber asked confused.

"Well… you know how your friend Lizza just vanished?"

Amber nodded uncertainly, she didn't like where this was going.

"We're going to do that, it's like teleporting."

Amber's eyes went wide "WE'RE GOING TO TELEPORT!? WE CAN DO THAT!?"

"Yes we can. It's called Apparition." Amber's outburst had managed to make Saffron chuckle slightly. "We're going to Apparate back home from here. Well, I'm going to Appearte. You're going to tag along for the ride."

"Okay… does it hurt?" Amber worried.

"No, not really. Though, it's a little uncomfortable your first time." Saffron said apologetically.

"Do I have a choice?"

"We don't have to, if you don't want to, however the only other option to get back home, would be to walk down to the Leaky Cauldron, and take the Floo Network."

The Leaky Cauldron was down near Charing Cross road. Amber couldn't be bothered walking that far, just to get to the house; plus traveling by Floo was still a little unpleasant.

"Alright. Let's trying this Apparition thing." Amber nervously agreed. "What do I have to do?"

"Nothing much." Saffron smiled, offering her arm out to Amber. "You just need to grab my arm, and hold on really tight."

"Okay then…" Amber nervously grabbed her cousin's arm and held on as tight as she could.

"Ready?" Amber meekly nodded. "Here we go."

Out of all the sensations, Amber had felt traveling around the magical world, Apparition was by far the worse. It trumped the winded and odd feeling in her navel, when she travelled by Port key. It trumped the dizziness and sneezing sensation from traveling by Floo Powder. And it certainly, trumped falling on her behind and being laughed at when she flew a broom.

The moment Amber's senses caught up to her, she felt like she was about to vomit. She wearily opened her eyes and immediately ran to the sink in front of her. Dropping the contents of her stomach into it.

"Goodness. I didn't think you'd have that bad of a reaction to Apparition. Even on your first time." Saffron spoke with a hint of concern in her voice. She rubbed Amber's back whilst she leaned over the sink.

"Can we not… Not do that again anytime soon." Amber begged.

"No, I think we'll wait a while, before we try it again." Saffron apologised. "Your mum was amazing at it, she regularly Apparated all 5 of us when we went out. I'm sorry, I thought you'd be a whizz at it like her… If I'd have known you'd react like this…"

"It's alright…" Amber mumbled before heaving again. Saffron handed her a glass of water, and it took another few minutes, for the sickly feeling to subside.

"Feel better?" Saffron asked, retrieving Amber's glass from her.

"Yes, thank you." Amber, for the first time since arriving back at McKinnon house, lifted herself up off the kitchen sink. Taking in the sight of the kitchen, the thing that stuck out to Amber most of all, was the kitchen bench was covered in empty boxes. "What's with the boxes?"

"That's why I wanted to wait until we were back home…" Saffron said unsure of where to start. "… Maybe we should go sit down."

Saffron lead Amber back into living room. Amber noticed that the dining table was also covered in boxes and junk; which was impressive considering its size. Upon further inspection of the table, Amber realised that all of the things on the table were from her home back in Nova Scotia.

"What… What's going on?" Amber said shakily. Still staring at the dining table.

"Greg and I have been discussing something's lately, and we think it might be a good idea for you both to move back here."

Amber's eyes remained fixed on the dining table.

 _Move back to McKinnon house?_

Amber had known, that this might have been a possibility, the day she had arrived at McKinnon house. The problem was, she hadn't processed it, and right now, the news was overwhelming her. She loved McKinnon house, as the home she never had, but moving back here, would mean giving up on everything back in Canada.

"We didn't want to make a final decision until we spoke to you of course." Saffron informed her. "But I've already made all of the arrangements, in case you did want to say. That's what I was doing at Gringotts at the start of the school year. I was adding bringing you back into the family's inheritance."

Amber breathed at what Saffron had just said. It was almost as if, her Dad and cousin, were expecting her to pick London. Thinking on it, Amber realised that she did want to stay at McKinnon house; there was so much history in the walls, and being close to Saffron, was the best thing in the world. It was nice to have family.

So then why did Nova Scotia still feel like home?

"Amber?" Amber sweetie? Are you okay? You haven't said anything." Saffron asked her worried.

"I… I think I want to stay here." Amber finally said.

"I'd be lying, if I said I wasn't happy with your choice" Saffron happily smiled. "But why do you look so sad?"

"I don't know. I want to live here. I really do. I'm just… confused."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Saffron asked sincerely.

"Not right now. I don't even know what I want to say."

"Okay then," Saffron dropping the issue. "How's school? Anna's told me you've been having a bit of trouble with bullies."

"Anna?" Amber puzzled.

"Sorry." Saffron laughed. "Professor Hackle."

"Of course." Amber face palmed, she forgot Professor Hackles first name was Annabelle. She then remembered Saffron had asked her a question. "School's alright. I just wish Shapell and Travers weren't always out to make my life miserable."

"Shapell? Travers?" Saffron parroted.

"Yeah. They're a couple of Slytherin's, who always, seem to be looking for ways to mess with us."

"Ah yes. I suppose they would be in Slytherin." Saffron mused familiarly.

"You know them?"

"No, not directly. I just know of their family names." Saffron replied. "I assume these are the two you've been getting into fights with."

Amber sheepishly nodded.

"I'm not angry Amber." Saffron comforted. "But we do need to talk about what's happening at school and ways to deal with them. You can't keep going into these situations wands blazing."

"Sorry, it's just hard to avoid them sometimes."

"I get it." Saffron empathised. "Changing schools can be quite confronting, add in magic, and you have a recipe for drama."

"Yeah." Amber whispered. "Sometimes wish I was still going to my school back in Canada."

"Really?" Saffron exclaimed, perplexed at Amber's admission. "I thought you loved being a witch."

"I do. It's just, sometimes it gets a bit full on, and I miss things, you know… especially after what happened…. What happened to CJ in Herbology. I honestly wanted to go back to Canada that night. If you hadn't of given me that pin, I think I might have done something silly."

"I'm glad it's helped you." Saffron said fondly. "Do you really miss it? Your school back in Canada?"

"Sometimes, but I think it's my friends that I miss most of all."

"That's understandable. Are your friends all you miss?"

"I miss some other things as well, like my computer and video games, my phone especially. You don't know how many times I've patted my pockets at school, looking for my phone, only to realise I left it at home. Honestly, if my wand hadn't of replaced it, as something I always have on me, I'd lose my mind."

"Phone? That's not one of those Muggle gizmos, that your dad's always carrying around is it?"

"Probably? Is about this big and have numbers on it?" Amber held up both of her hands in the shape of an L, to indicate how big it approximately would be.

"Yes that! That weird thing kept making noise when he left it here once. I nearly blasted it with an ' _Expulso_ ', it was getting so annoying."

Amber laughed at Saffron's inability to understand technology. "You know you can turn them off, right?"

"Turn them off? I don't understand?" Saffron huffed. "You're as bad as Anna. She was forever trying to get you mum and me to try Muggle technology."

Amber laughed again at her cousin, who was becoming more irritable as the conversation went on. "Professor Hackle tried to get you try Technology!? What did she show you?"

"The same thing your Dad has but not as small. It's been done in the basement ever since, I told your dad that's where he stick the rest of his Muggle junk."

"Has Dad brought any of my stuff over?" Amber asked hopefully.

"No not yet. He didn't want to touch anything in your room without you."

"I was hoping he might have grabbed my laptop." Amber sulked.

"We can go get it now, if you like." Saffron offered.

"What! Now? But it's getting dark, isn't it a bit late."

"No time like the present." Saffron laughed. "Besides, it might well be late here in London, but in Nova Scotia it's still the middle of the afternoon."

"Oh, yeah." Amber remembered that time zones were a thing. "Wait… How are we getting their? Canada is over the Atlantic."

"Same way as you got here. By Portkey of course."

"Argh." Amber groaned. "I hate traveling by Portkey."

"Well the best way to get used to it, is by using it. Come on, it's not that bad." Saffron encouraged.

"Fine…" Amber reluctantly agreed. "Can I bring Nocturne? I'm sure he'd like to see home one last time."

"Sure." Saffron stiffly smiled. "The more the merrier."

Amber darted off to find Nocturne, whilst Saffron set up the Portkey. By the time she found her owl, and got back to the living room, Saffron was done. Nervously Amber grabbed the handle of the familiar Frying pan, with nocturne on her shoulder; the familiar feeling of a hook behind her navel took her away. Once her senses had returned to her, she was welcomed by the familiar visage of her backyard, albeit covered in a light layer of snow."

Getting up off the ground, Amber inhaled in through her nose, welcoming the smells, that accompanied her image of home. Nocturne used the opportunity to fly over to his old tree across the road.

"It feels weird being back home now." Amber remarked. She walked over to the back door and tried to open it, only to find it was looked. "Dam… I forgot to bring my keys."

"Not a problem," Saffron grinned, withdrawing her wand. _"Alohomora."_

Amber pouted a little, at Saffron's effortless use of magic, and grumpily entered the house. The interior of the house, was missing a large portion of the furniture, making it look incomplete. Amber uncertainly made her way up to her room, with Saffron trudging up behind her. When she swung open her bedroom door, Amber found her room completely untouched, exactly how she left it.

Amber quickly raced around her room, with Saffron watching amusedly. Immediately finding her laptop, she quickly booted it up, only to find that the Wi-Fi in the house was down; likely due to the fact her dad probably hadn't been home in months. Snapping her fingers in remembrance, Amber dived across her bed, and snatched her phone up from her bedside table.

83 messages and 25 missed calls.

Amber felt a sinking feeling in her gut.

"Is everything alright Amber?" Saffron asked, once the girl's concern filled her features.

"I don't know." Amber asked worriedly. "My friends have been trying to find out where I have been."

Amber flicked through her messages.

'want 2 hng 2moro?'

'where r u?'

'wil u b school?'

'y did u disappear?'

Amber felt sick, she realised just how suddenly she had left. Her friends must have been worried sick about her. Amber sat down heavily down on her bed, a look of defeat plastered on her face.

"Amber, I'll be okay." Saffron comforted. "If you like. We can go see your friends before we leave."

"What good will that do?" Amber groaned. "It's not like I can tell them why I left."

"No. But you can apologise for leaving, and say goodbye." Saffron reminded her.

"I… I don't think that'll help." Amber whispered, "I'm not sure if I can face them."

"Amber…"

"Not now. _Please_ Saffron." Amber begged. "Can we talk about this later?"

"Okay..." Saffron sighed. "If that's what you want."

Amber spent the next half an hour with Saffron, bundling up her belongings, and stuffing them into a bag. Amber was sceptical at first, that the small backpack that Saffron had brought, would fit all of her things, but after she realised that after it had an extension charmed placed upon it. She was able to pack everything.

The only things she didn't bring with her was her furniture, as McKinnon house had plenty of Beds, desks, and dressers that would suit her needs. Saffron's magic sped up the process immensely, a flick of her wand sent clothes, books, and stuffed animals into the bag with ease. Amber was moderately miffed she couldn't help.

"I see why you liked the view from this window." Saffron remarked, she had regulated herself to looking out the window whilst Amber sorted through her 'Muggle gizmo's.'

"I'm going to miss it." Amber said sadly. She too got up and looked at the view.

"No reason why we can't take a piece of it with us." Saffron grinned. She pulled out her wand and summoned a camera.

"Um…" Amber mumbled grabbing her cousin's arm. "If it's all right with you, I'd prefer to take this picture with my camera."

Saffron looked a little hurt for a moment, but eventually relented, and allowed Amber to grab her Muggle camera.

"I don't see why you don't want the picture to move." Saffron huffed, when Amber passed her camera into her cousin's arms.

"Well it's not so much as I want it to move, as I want it in colour."

"Anna always complained about the same thing." Saffron sighed. "How do you work this thing?"

"It works just like the camera you're familiar with, you just need to make sure it's in focus." Amber gave her cousin a quick tutorial about how to use a Muggle camera, which was perhaps, was just a little bit too long.

Once Amber had the camera set up, she briefly opened the window, and stood in front of it waiting for Saffron to take the picture. Once the flash had subsided Amber moved to check picture before something she was not expecting stopped her.

"Amber!?" A stunned voice shouted from down in the street.

Amber turned around and looked down to see her old friend Hannah standing on the sidewalk, looking up to her window in surprise. Amber quickly stepped back from the window, breaking line of sight with her friend.

"Don't go Amber! _Please_ come down!" Hannah yelled up to the second story.

"Go down and say hello to your friend Amber." Saffron encouraged.

"She probably hates me." Amber muted. "I'd hate me."

"I bet she's just worried and wants to see you." Saffron grabbed one of Amber's Jackets, placed it on her shoulders, and pushed her out of her bedroom. "You'll never know until you go see her."

Amber walked down the stairs under Saffron's watchful gaze. Taking a deep breath, Amber opened the front door and walked over to her friend.

"Thank heavens! It is you!" Hannah rushed over to Amber as soon as the front door opened, and pulled her into a hug. "Where have you been? It's as if you disappeared like magic."

Amber winced, visibly. That was pretty much exactly what happened. Amber desperately wanted to tell Hannah everything, but knew she couldn't..

"Are you alright?" Hannah asked, noticing Amber's reaction.

"I… I'm fine. That'd be pretty crazy huh? Disappearing like magic." Amber chuckled nervously.

"Well obviously that's not what happened." Hannah stated humorously, her concern returning soon after. "But where have you been? When you didn't come back to school we started getting really worried."

"I've Um… Been away." Amber said uncertainly. "I've changed schools."

"Oh…" Hannah sadly responded. "I had a feeling, it's just… hearing it makes it all real."

"I know the feeling." Amber mournfully replied.

"So… Where's your new school?"

Amber gulped before she answered, Hannah wasn't going to like where her new school was. "It's in Scotland."

"Scotland?"

"It's in England." Amber clarified.

"I know where it is." Hannah snapped. "Sorry… Th-That means you're moving right?"

"Yeah." Amber confirmed. "That's, why I'm here today. To get the last of my stuff."

Hannah didn't say anything for a long while. She was trying to process what she had just been told. Amber felt bad she hadn't told any of her friends from back home that she was leaving. "Sorry I haven't texted or called. My new school… it doesn't have the internet or good phone reception."

"Jeez. Where is it? In the middle of a nowhere or something?"

"Pretty much. It's actually inside of an old castle." Amber uncertainly answered, not sure how much she should say about Hogwarts.

"It's inside a castle!?" Hannah blurted in surprise. "Doesn't it get cold going to school somewhere like that."

"Just about every room has a fireplace, so it stays pretty warm. Plus my new friend Liz is really good with Warming Cha…" Amber coughed to cover her near slip up. "…Warming us up. Our Dormitory is always nice and toasty."

"Dormitory?" Hannah asked looking at Amber strangely. Amber wasn't sure if she had picked up on the slip up.

"I guess I forgot to mention." Amber apologised. "My new school is a boarding school."

"You really are leaving then." Hannah dejectedly responded.

"Sorry. I didn't make the decision lightly."

"Is it worth it?" Hannah asked after a pause. "Your new school I mean?"

Thinking on what Hannah had just asked her Amber thought about the last 3 months at Hogwarts. Although it had its ups and downs, the school really was amazing. Yes, she at times missed her computer and her old friends like Hannah, but she had also gained new friends like Lizza and Casey.

Before Amber could answer her friend however, Jacob and two of his friends rode down the road, taking advantage of sparsity of the snow. They pulled up in front of Amber's house with bewildered expressions.

"Looks like the Lezzies are back together!" Jacob laughed, once he saw he recognised Amber and Hannah were sitting on Amber's front wall.

"He's still on about that?" Amber asked Hannah exacerbated.

"Ergh. Yes." Hannah replied. "Honestly he doesn't shut up about it."

Jacob and his cronies, stalked towards Amber and Hannah, who rose once they got within a couple of meters.

"Where you been Amber? Your girlfriend's been lonely." Jacob taunted.

"That's the best shot you can come with Jacob?" Amber snapped, annoyed. "I've heard better taunts from a heard of baboons, although with how red you're getting, I'm sure you'd fit right in with them."

Everyone seemed to be a taken back, including Jacob, who turning a nice shade of crimson.

"Don't encourage him Amber." Hannah whispered in her ear. "They'll get nasty. Remember what they did to Ricky."

"I'm not scared of them." Amber said defiantly, deliberately loud enough for Jacob and his friends to hear.

The truth was, she wasn't. Amber was very much aware of what she could do with her magic now, and was practically looking for an excuse to Jinx Jacob. She knew shouldn't initiate, (they had been told they were only allowed to use magic in life threatening circumstances outside of school), but if Jacob attacked first, she was well within her right to use her magic to defend herself.

"What did you say Amber?" Jacob growled. "You're not scared of me?"

Jacob edged forward and got right up into Ambers face, until their noses were basically touching. Amber could feel his breath on her skin, but she wasn't fazed in the slightest. Instead, her left hand twitched ready to grab her wand.

"Not particularly, no." Amber replied matter a factly.

Jacobs's anger boiled, no one had ever stood up to him before now. Amber looked at Jacob with intent, daring him to try something. Jacob raised his fist but kept his cool, opting not to strike Amber.

But Amber was goading for a fight.

"What, can't you hit a girl _."_ Amber snarled, looking him dead in the eyes.

Jacob's face twisted with anger once again. A shrill scream from Hannah alerted her that Jacob was about to do something, and she felt two hands push her violently in the chest, sending her sprawling backwards.

Amber righted herself quickly, and immediately reached for her wand, but before she could draw it, she was stopped.

"AMBER JADE MCKINNON!" Saffron screamed from the front door. "YOU BETTER NOT DO, WHAT I THINK YOU'RE ABOUT TO DO!"

Amber froze at Saffron's shrill like command, and her hand instantaneously let go of her wand. Turning to face her cousin, Amber recoiled at the sight of Saffron on the warpath, a warpath headed straight for her.

"Of all the stupid, idiotic, and dumb things you have done…" Saffron ranted as she marched towards Amber. "…are you trying to get yourself expelled?"

"Sorry Saffron." Amber apologised. "I wasn't thinking."

"No, of course not. When do you ever think?" Saffron chided. "And you three!"

Almost as quickly as she came barrelling out of the house, Saffron turned her anger towards the three boys, who were harassing Amber and Hannah.

"We didn't do anything." Jacob said quickly.

"An utter lie." Saffron accused. "I saw you three from the window, I saw you push Amber. I suggest you three leave very, _very,_ quickly, or you'll see just how scary I can be." Saffron threatened.

"You can't do anything!" Jacob defied. "Child abuse is against the law."

Saffron didn't even get a chance to retort, because Nocturne, at that moment, came swooping in from parts unknown, nearly knocking Jacob off his feet. Nocturne continued to harrier Jacob, until he managed to get back onto his bike and flee down the street with his friends.

Amber, Saffron, and Hannah laughed at Jacob's quick retreat; right up until Nocturne came around and landed on Amber's outstretched arm.

"Thank you Nocturne." Amber praised, stroking nocturnes features.

"Very well done indeed." Saffron mimicked, stroking Nocturnes features. "Though it shouldn't have been necessary."

"Sorry," Amber mumbled.

"Are you?" Saffron pried, glancing briefly to Hannah. "We will be having a, _very,_ long conversation, when we get home.

Amber nodded meekly, both witches unawares, that Hannah had spent this entire exchange looking at Nocturne, with wide eyed wonder.

"Now who is your friend here?" Saffron asked.

"So um, this is my friend Hannah, Hannah this is my cousin Saffron." Hannah jumped when she was addressed, and was alternating between staring at the strangely dressed Saffron and the mysterious Nocturne.

"Hi…" Hannah finally managing to get out a greeting before she turned her attention back to Nocturne. "Is… Is that bird yours?"

"Yes." Amber bashfully replied. "This is my owl Nocturne."

"So cool." Hannah gaped. "Where did you get him?"

Saffron shot Amber a warning look, that she easily translated to: 'Tell her about magic and you'll be in deep trouble.'

"Um… we... My dad got him for me." Amber eventually replied.

Hannah looked at Amber curiously, before she turned to Saffron. "Would it be okay if Amber came with me for a walk down to the milk bar? She said this'll be her last day in Nova Scotia and um... I was wondering if it we could hang out one last time."

"How far away is this Milk bar?" Saffron asked wearily.

"It's only about a 20 minute walk."

"Alright." Saffron relented. "No more than an hour Amber, and take Nocturne with you."

"Ahhhh, thanks Saffron." Amber barely managed to get out before Hannah pulled her away.

The pair walked in silence for the first few minutes. Amber had already released Nocturne to fly above them, to keep a watchful eye. Though she doubted Jacob would try anything.

"So now that we've ditched your cousin for a bit, what's really going on?" Hannah asked.

"What do mean?" Amber replied nervously. "There's nothing else going on, I've told you everything."

"Come off it Amber," Hannah scoffed, "You've been acting strange since you walked out the front door, and that doesn't even count, all the other weird stuff that happens around you."

"It's nothing, really." Amber tried to pass off as honestly as she could.

"I know something's going on." Hannah stubbornly replied. "Come on, I'm your friend, you can tell me what it is."

"I told you it's nothing." Amber huffed, picking up her pace.

Hannah glared at Amber before she jogged back up to her. Amber could feel her friend staring at her intently, so she tried to rebut by looking straight ahead and ignore her. Then without warning, Hannah tried to reach into Amber's jacket.

"What are you doing?" Amber shouted incredulously, pushing Hannah off her.

"What are you hiding?" Hannah demanded.

"Nothing!" Amber shot back.

"It's not nothing." Hannah rebutted, convinced of what she knew. "I saw you reaching for something in your jacket."

"I…I…" Amber stuttered realising she was backed into a corner. "Okay fine! There is something, but I can't tell you what it is."

"Can't or won't?" Hannah challenged.

"Can't…" Amber pleaded. "Please, don't make me say it… I'll get into trouble if I do."

The honesty in Amber's eyes coupled with her pleading look, broke Hannah's resolve.

"Alright I'll drop it." Hannah said finally, though she was still a little annoyed that Amber wouldn't tell her. "Must be pretty important if you're not telling me."

"It is Hannah, it really is."

Hannah gave Amber a lopsided smile and grabbed her by the hand, "Come on, the Milk bar's got these awesome new chocolate bar's."

After trying chocolate from the wizarding world, Muggle chocolate - no matter how well made - didn't have the same kick as wizarding chocolate. That said, it didn't stop Amber eating a half a dozen of them.

Their walk back to Amber's house was fairly mundane, since Amber couldn't really talk about school, let alone her Magic. In the end, Amber probed Hannah with questions about home, asking things like what everyone else had been up to. By the time they got back, Amber was running out of things to ask.

"So this is it huh?" Hannah asked once they stopped outside of Amber's house.

"Yeah I guess it is." Amber sadly replied.

"I'm going to miss you…" Hannah mourned.

"I'm going to miss you too… shame you can't come to the U.K. with me." Amber half-joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I don't think my parents will move to London, just so I can attend the same school as my friend."

 _If that was the only prerequisite._ Amber mused to herself.

"Well you never know." Amber joked again, this time getting Hannah, to giggle at her bad attempt at humour.

"Seriously though, try and stay in touch this time." Hannah pulled out a pen and scribbled her E-mail address on Amber's arm. "I know you said your new school doesn't have the internet, but maybe over the holidays, you could send me an E-mail or something?"

Amber looked down at the writing on her arm: _'hannahpalindrome101 '._ Amber smiled to herself, typical Hannah.

"I'll make sure I do, I promise." Amber said sincerely.

"Pinkie promise?" Hannah asked extending her little finger.

"Is there any other kind?" Amber smirked, grabbing Hannah's finger with her own.

"I hope we get to see each other again." Hannah pulled Amber into a hug, after she had made her promise.

"I'm sure we will, I'll make sure of it." Amber whispered into Hannah's ear.

"Well just in case we don't." Hannah whispered back.

Hannah then pulled Amber out of the hug, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Leaving Amber dumbfounded, with a huge blush on her face.

"I'll see you around Amber." Hannah sang. She then took off down the street, not once looking back.

Amber watched her friend in silence as she ran out of sight, her hand caressing the spot where Hannah had kissed her. Once Hannah was no longer in view, Amber felt hot tears fill her eyes, but she fought to hold them back.

"Are you alright Amber?" Saffron asked once Amber walked back inside.

"I think I will be." Amber sniffled. "Goodbyes are hard."

"For what it's worth." Saffron said whilst giving amber a hug. "I think you made the right choice."

"Thanks Saffron… I think… I think I did too."

"I'm glad you think so." Saffron smiled back, before her expression turned into a frown. "Now… About what happened earlier…"

Saffron's lecture went for precisely 42 minutes. Amber had been timing it since she now had her phone back, something that Saffron wasn't all too thrilled with, once she found out. Which incidentally was the reason why it went for 42 minutes, instead of 27 minutes.

When Mr McKinnon finally arrived home, he was surprised to find Saffron and Amber upstairs, putting together Amber's new room. Amber ordered Saffron around like a servant, asking her to charm her bedroom walls different colours, to decide which one she liked, (since Amber herself couldn't use magic). To her credit though, Saffron took the playfulness of Amber's requests lightly, and was more than happy to flick her wand, to change things around.

By the time Amber and Saffron were done with her new room, Amber was exhausted, but she called up her dad to have a look anyway. The wall opposite her window was a delightful shade of yellow, with a big mural of pictures (both Muggle and Magical) pinned to it. All of her stuffed animals, were arrayed all over her new queen size bed, and her desk sat directly opposite it, in front of the window overlooking the garden.

Mr McKinnon looked at his daughter with pride, a look that Saffron duplicated. The state of her new room, told him exactly what choice Amber had made, so it needn't be mentioned. Instead, he just gave her a kiss on the forehead, offering a simple, "Your room looks nice." and left his daughter, to her own devices.

Once alone in her room, Amber soaked in atmosphere of her new sanctuary.

She realised, she was now truly home.


	12. Chapter 12: Frostbite

**Chapter Twelve: Frostbite**

Casey could feel the butterflies returning to her stomach, and they were bringing friends. She nearly started panicking when she saw the look on her father's face, a glance at Lizza's mum, told Casey her friend was looking to receive the same treatment tonight.

"I was hoping I would get at least one night's sleep before being interrogated." Casey whispered to Lizza.

"Me too, I was really hopping Dad would be the one picking me up. But if Mum's here, that means we'll be in Britain for at least another night." Lizza fretted.

"You'll be back home before you know it, let us know how it goes, yeah."

"Yeah." Lizza gave Amber and Casey one last farewell, just before her Mum grabbed her arm, and disapperated. Casey would have marvelled at what had just happened to Lizza, however her dad grabbed her attention first.

"Say goodbye Casey we're leaving." Mr Jands barked.

"I guess I'll see you after break Amber. See you later." Casey gave Amber one last hug, and shouldered her backpack, just before she was practically dragged away by her father.

Casey struggled to keep pace with her Dad, he raced straight through the portal to Platform 9¾ and made for the Muggle car park outside Kings Cross.

"Dad can you slow down please, what's the rush?" Casey pleaded with her father.

"Quiet _boy_ , I don't want to hear a peep out of you until we get home." Casey wasn't expecting her Dad's comment to sting as much as it did.

"But,"

"Quiet!" Mr Jands bellowed, attracting the attention of various commuters.

The 1 hour car trip back out to Brentford, ballooned to nearly 2 hours due to traffic. It was also done in total silence. At one point Casey reached into her bag to pull out one of her Transfiguration text books to read, but the death glare her Dad gave stopped her cold. She quietly put the book back with her wand and other school things.

Casey felt sick when her Dad finally pulled into the carport at the family home. She hoped her sister's car would be there to surprise her, but alas it was not. She would be going into this confrontation alone.

Nervously, she followed her Dad into the house she was all too familiar with. Before she could even head down the hall to her bedroom to drop off her things, her Dad grabbed her by the arm.

"Sit." He ordered, pointing to the couch in the living room.

Casey dropped her back pack behind the couch and she sat down whilst she waited quietly for her parents to renter the room. Sitting on the coffee table was a letter from Hogwarts; she guessed it was the letter that Professor McGonagall said she'd send.

She was reaching forward to have a look what the Professor had written when both of her parents walked into the room. Mrs Jands took a seat in her usual chair whilst Mr Jands preferred to stand in front of the Television with his arms crossed.

"Do you know what's in that letter?" Mr Jands said to Casey pointing to the letter on the table.

"No," She tried so say defiantly.

"Bullshit," Mr Jands barked. "Do you know what's in that letter?"

Casey didn't answer; she just looked down at her feet.

"Well then perhaps I can enlighten you," Mr Jands snapped, grabbing the letter off the table. "Dear Mr and Mrs Jands. I am writing to inform you of an incident that occurred at our school last Saturday involving _Miss_ Casey Jands and some boys from her house,"

Casey cringed at her dad's pronunciation of 'Miss'.

"The incident involved _Miss_ Jands being pushed into the girl's dormitories; normally this action would cause a male student to be ejected from the dormitories however _Miss_ Jands was foun….."

"Please stop," Casey half shouted unable to take hearing the rest of the letter.

"Are you sure? I am finding this quite interesting," Mr Jands spat before he continued to read out the letter. "…was found to have been accepted into the dormitories. Naturally we were surprised to find _Miss_ Jands in this section of the Castle. However after having a discussion with _her_ we found that _she_ would prefer to attend scho…."

"STOP!" Casey screeched. Her voice cutting her father off completely. "Please stop…."

The silence was deafening. Mr and Mrs Jands stared intently at Casey, their anger rising with each laboured breath.

"I'm losing faith in that little school of yours; I think we should find someplace else that can better deal with your freakiness."

Casey couldn't believe the words that had just come out of her Father's mouth. "Wh-what you can't be serious!?"

"Deadly serious. You heard your father young man. We were sceptical about that school to begin with, and all this… this talk about you wanting to be turned into a _girl_ ," Mrs Jands spoke the last word with disdain. "Has just proved to us how unnatural all of this is. Do you really expect us to believe you can just magically change your gender?"

"Yes you can! Professor McGonagall should h…."

"Professor Nothing. She has no idea how the real world works." Mr Jands was practically foaming at the mouth. "You were born a boy and that's that. I hope you enjoyed your time at that pathetic excuse for a school because you're not going back."

Casey sat on the coach with her mouth open in disbelief.

"I think it's time for you to go to your room Casey." Mrs Jands ordered. "Your father and I need to talk about what we are going to do about your…. Situation."

Casey was floored; this wasn't happening, this can't be happening. The past 3 months at Hogwarts have been the best time of her life. Yes there had been bullies, and yes she got burnt by Fire Berry Vines. But she had also met her friends Amber and Lizza and classes weren't that bad once you got down to it. After all it beat the hell out of Algebra.

"No," Casey uttered.

"What did you say?" Her father hissed.

"I said, NO!" Casey proclaimed, standing to her feet. "You can't do this, I… I have friends now, real friends. Friends that accept me for who I am and I'm not about to leave them just because you can't accept the fact that…. I'M. A. WITCH!"

Casey shouted the last part of her sentence in defiance, her Magic flaring, shaking all of the glass and china in the house violently even cracking the glass of the television screen.

"How dare you use Magic in my house!" Mr Jands roared. He was just about to go on another tirade when he suddenly clutched his throat. Casey thought he was suffocating until she realised he just couldn't talk.

Mr Jands struggled to maintain his composure, his face glowed red with anger. Mrs Jands tried to come up and offer her Husband a glass of water but he just pushed her away knocking the glass to the floor. Casey just stared and watched in shock until she realised what had just happened.

She had done that.

She had just cursed her father.

It was then she remembered what had occurred last summer.

Her father had tried to smack her, because she lied about sneaking out of the house one day with her sister. Before he could lay a hand on her though, his cup exploded, sending blistering hot water all over his face, stopping him dead in his tracks. It confused Casey at the time, because she could have sworn the tea in that cup was lukewarm at best.

As she tried to decipher what happened in the past she realised she should be in the here and now. Casey's father got himself together and rounded on her. Fury alight in his eyes, eyes that stared at her with deadly intent.

Her wand. She needed her wand.

Casey attempted to jump over the back of the couch but her dad got to her first. The old man seized his daughter's ankle causing her to fall back onto the upholstery. Casey winced from the pain in her ankle as her father raised his free hand to strike her. Before his hand could connect however Casey kicked wildly and managed to find her Dad's face, kicking him square in the nose.

The force of the strike caused Mr Jands to release his grip and blood started to ooze from his face. Not wasting the opportunity she just bought herself Casey jumped over the couch before landing awkwardly. Hastily she fished though her backpack tipping out half of the contents as she went before firmly grabbing her wand, timidly standing, and then pointing it at her Dad.

Mr and Mrs Jands froze as they saw their child point her wand at her father.

"How dare you point that stick at your father." Mrs Jands growled. "I'm going to snap that thing like a twig once this is over."

Mr Jands took his wife's lead. Even though having a wand pointed at him screamed vicious intent, Mr Jands - whether through blind anger or sheer stupidity - foolishly thought little of his daughter's wand and once again lunged at his child.

Casey barely registered what was happening, and before she realised it she shouted. _"FLIPENDO!"_

The Knockback Jinx hit Mr Jands forcefully sending him spinning backwards before bouncing heavily off the Coffee table, the force upon landing knocking him out cold. Casey had never casted a spell with that much power before and she was shocked at how far back her Dad had been flung.

Mrs Jands rushed to her husband's aid whilst Casey stood there shaking like a leaf; wand still raised. Fear pulsed through the young girls veins.

Mrs Jands turned to what she thought was her son. Casey had never seen that kind of anger in the eyes of her mother before. "Mum, I'm sor…"

"Leave." Mrs Jands was seething.

"Please, I didn't mea…"

"I SAID LEAVE FREAK!" Mrs Jands screamed.

Casey stared at her Mum transfixed.

"Don't ever think about coming back to this house." The words dripped with venom. "You are no longer my son."

Casey's heart broke. "You never had one to begin with."

She didn't even take one last look at her mother before Casey turned around and bolted out the front door with tears streaming down her face. It was cold, freezing in fact. Her thin jacket doing practically nothing at keeping out the chilling wind, it hadn't started snowing yet but it soon would be.

Casey walked around for hours. She went as far as she could before the pain in her ankle became too much. She promptly collapsed onto the edge of the sidewalk with fresh round of tears. Her right hand was still clutched tightly around her wand but she dared not cast another spell; after all they had been expressly forbidden before they left Hogwarts not to use magic outside of school, under the threat of expulsion.

She had used her magic twice since arriving back home and not even a day had elapsed yet. Maybe her parents where right after all. Maybe she wasn't going to go back to Hogwarts after Christmas. All this line of thinking made misery and dysphoria deepen causing her left hand to dig dangerously into her arm.

A bright light and a bang pulled her out of her stupor. Casey looked up at the commotion and saw a large triple decker bus that was violently painted purple with the words 'The Knight Bus' written above the windshield. A strange witch dressed in similarly purple coloured attire appeared in the gangway that led inside the bus.

"Hello, welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wiz… Are you alright kid?" The witch asked when she glanced over the card she was reading and spotted Casey crying on the ground. Casey just looked back down to the ground and shook her head.

The older witch came down off the bus and sat next to her. "I don't know what you're going through or why a young witch like yourself is walking around Brentwood at this time of night but this here is The Knight Bus. When a witch or wizard is in trouble all they have to do is stick there wand arm out and we'll come and take you to where you need to go."

Casey nodded to the older witches remarks. It was days like this that Casey was thankful that she was sometimes mistaken for a girl. "This bus can take me anywhere?"

"Pretty much. Well anywhere within Britain at least. The bus don't do water."

Casey tried to think of somewhere she could go tonight. She thought of her sister's place but she realised as she thought of it that her sister wouldn't be home. She would be at wedding reception all night and likely wouldn't be back until early the next morning. Casey went through possibility after possibility and just when she nearly ran out of ideas she remembered Amber. Saffron had a house in Surrey.

"Um, can you take me to McKinnon house in Surrey? I'm pretty sure it's at the end of Long Street."

"I'm sure we can find it come on let's get you off the cold ground," The witch smiled before she pulled Casey's left hand away from her arm. "And enough of this, hurting yourself will do you no good."

"Okay." Casey sniffled.

"No problem, now unfortunately onto business that'll be 11 Sickles."

"Oh…. I don't have any wizarding money on me… all my stuff is… back there." Casey dejectedly responded. "Is it possible I could pay you when you drop me off?"

The older witch looked down at Casey for moment, "It's okay I'll cover your trip this one time. Mum'd kill me if she found out I left a witch your age stranded in the middle of a Muggle town."

"Thank you so much. I'm sorry to be a bother." Casey thanked, as she boarded the bus.

"Don't mention it; say you never did tell me your name."

"Casey Jands. And you never did tell me yours."

"Oh dah, it's Zoe Dolage, I'm the conductor for the night." Tipping her hat to Casey. "You might want to grab a seat kiddo we're about to leave."

Zoe leaned up against the driver's window and knocked twice against the screen. The hobbly little driver put the bus into drive and with a sharp bang hurled it forward.

"Woah!" Casey barely had time to brace herself before she was thrown backwards into one of the rolling bed frames on the lower level. "Do we always travel so fast? Won't the police pull us over or something?"

Zoe looked up from picking at her nails with a scoff. "Yeah right. Muggles never pay attention to what's happening around them, we'd be gone before they knew where we were."

Casey looked at Zoe sceptically before looking out the window and recognising the surrounding environment. "Bloody Hell! We're in London already? That's like an hour's drive!"

"Well dah. What, do you think this bus is just like a Muggle one?" Zoe laughed.

"I guess?" Casey said unsure. "I mean I really shouldn't be surprised by anything by now."

"You're a Muggle born aren't ya?" Zoe inquired.

"Yes Ma'am, I started at Hogwarts this year."

"I figured as much. What house you in?"

"Hufflepuff." Casey replied.

"Dang I'd thought you'd be Gryffindor like me." Zoe commented. "How are you finding the Magical world?"

"I don't know it's still very confusing at times. I mean I love being a wiz…" Coughing mid-sentence to cover up her mistake. "A witch, but sometimes I just feel like I'm in over my head."

"Fair enough. Can't imagine what it is like having your entire world turned upside down in space of an afternoon."

"Trust me with what I've been through in the past month I'm getting used to it."

"Cheer up, whatever mess you're in at the moment just remember you're a witch. You got Magic at your disposal now." Zoe finished her sentence with a wink.

"You sound like my friend Amber."

"Sounds like a smart girl. Seriously though, it'll get better. Just be yourself and everything'll turn out just fine."

"Just be yourself." Casey whispered to herself. "Easier said then done."

"About another 5 minutes yeah Ern?" Zoe called out to the driver.

"Ar." Was the curt reply.

The Knight Bus zipped across the British countryside dropping off and picking up various passengers around the country. Once you got used to it the erratic stops and starts the bus made wasn't all that bad considering. They were traveling impossibly fast.

"Alright here we are. Long Street, Surrey. Pretty sure McKinnon house is over there somewhere." Zoe announced pointing to somewhere behind Casey.

"Thanks Miss Zoe," Casey said waving to the older witch. "Thanks Mr Ern!"

"Ar." Seemed to be the only word he could say.

"You take care now kiddo, remember what I said yeah?"

"I will. Wait, what about the Sickles?"

"Don't worry about it kid. You can pay me back next time." Zoe replied as she stepped back on the bus.

"What if there isn't a next time?"

"Oh, there's always a next time." Zoe said, and with a swift double knock to the driver's window, the Knight Bus disappeared down the street with a bang.

Casey turned around and looked at the spot that Zoe had pointed to, but all that was in front of her was a wall of trees, bushes, and vines. She was about to walk away, when she noticed something gleaming in the corner of her eye.

Something metal was hidden behind the shrubbery, and upon pulling back the vines a rusty letter box stood in the shrub. The Letter box looked old, so old in fact, that Casey thought it should be placed in a museum. The number 22 hung loosely on a small sign, with the words McKinnon engraved just underneath.

She was in the right spot but the house couldn't be seen anywhere. It was just a wall of shrub. With no other options available to her, Casey placed her wand on the letter box, and tried to create an opening she could push through. She would have done, had something else not happened first.

The moment her wand came into contact with the letter box the bushes, trees, and vines rolled back to reveal a hidden driveway leading up to a lone house. Curious Casey slowly limped her way up to the estate.

McKinnon's house exterior was impressive. The 2 Acre property was hidden behind a large row of trees and impossibly thick bushes concealing it from unwanted Muggle eyes. The whole garden seemed to be an orchid, and the Apple and Pear trees melded into the arrays of flowers. A large tin shed could be seen towards the back with a vegetable garden positioned right next to it.

Lastly the cobble stone path twisted away from the driveway up to the front door and its homely veranda, which was dominated by a rather ornate family swing.

Desperate to get out of the cold night air Casey attempted to hurry down the path and silently approached the front door. Taking a breath she held up her hand and knocked three times. Rustling could be heard from within and two adult voices echoed from behind the walls.

"Are you expecting someone?" A male voice questioned.

"No. Who would I have around at this hour? It's nearly midnight." An equally curious female voice responded.

Footsteps travelled towards the front door and the rattle of the locks being undone clicked and clacked audibly. Once the door opened a v _ery_ surprised Saffron stood in the opening; wand at her side and robe tightly wrapped around herself.

"CJ? What…. What on earth are you doing here at this time of night?" A dumb founded Saffron asked.

"Hi Miss Saffron…. Um is it…. is it okay if I stay here tonight?" Casey's voice was devoid of emotion. She was just too cold and tried to put ay energy into anything.

"I ah…. Yes of course." She responded finally getting over shock only for concern to replace it. "You're freezing. Quickly come in here by the fire place."

Saffron pulled Casey into the house and marched her into the living room where the warmth of the fire could be found.

"So who was at the door Saffron?" Mr McKinnon turned towards the two witches who were just entering the room. His face went from surprised, to confused, before finally settling on concerned all of which happened in a matter of a few seconds. "Are you alright CJ?"

Casey shook her head no and just leaned into Saffron as they took a seat on the coach.

"Morgana's tears you're as cold as ice CJ. Greg do you mind getting some hot chocolate?"

"No problem, I'll be back in a minute," He said before he left the room. "AMBER! I need you down here now!" Casey cringed at the volume Mr McKinnon bellowed across the house.

Saffron sat quietly next to Casey for a while whilst they waited for the hot drink. At least Saffron hadn't pressed her for why she showed up on her doorstep in the middle of the night. Well, not yet at least.

"This'll make you feel better." Mr McKinnon offered Casey a large mug of hot chocolate and set it down on the coffee table right before sitting down in a chair opposite the couch. "Where on earth is that girl?"

Mr McKinnon stood up from his chair almost as soon as he sat down and looked towards the hallway passage looking for signs of his daughter before abruptly walking to the entrance of the hallway.

"Amber! Get your but down here!" Casey winced once again at the volume this time with Saffron picking up on it.

"Greg. Maybe lower the volume" Nodding towards Casey.

The image of the fight with her parents once again flashed in her minds eye and her hand once again tightened around her wand. She hadn't set her wand down since retrieving it from her backpack earlier that night.

"Sorry CJ, I suppose loud noises aren't your cup of tea tonight." Casey didn't hear Mr McKinnon speak; her mind wasn't there right now. It was still back in Brentford, reliving the ordeal that she had just endured.

"CJ…. CJ.… Casey!" Saffron had a worried look on her face, and was trying to shake Casey out of her trance.

"Sorry, I was somewhere else." Casey admitted, although, she still wasn't fully back in the present.

"It's okay but I think you might need to put your wand down. Your knuckles are white from gripping it so tightly and you were just shooting out red sparks."

"No!" Casey cried defensively bring her wand to her chest.

"CJ… Your safe here, nobody's going to hurt you." Saffron eased. "You can let go now."

Saffron gently placed her hand on top Casey's before finally coaxing the girl to let go of her wand. She then took the young witches wand and very deliberately placed it on the coffee table in front of her before grabbing the mug of hot chocolate that Mr McKinnon had made.

"Your wand is right there on the table CJ if you need it." Casey nodded, her rationality finally returning to her. "Why don't you drink this before it gets cold?"

Saffron passed Casey the hot chocolate making sure the young girl took at least one sip before letting go. Casey was so absorbed with her drink she didn't hear the footsteps approach from the kitchen.

"I'm here Dad. What's with all the shouting? I was trying to get to sleep." Amber entered into the living room via the kitchen whilst rubbing her eyes. She was also dressed in thick pyjamas and wrapped up in a robe.

"Casey's here."

"Wha…? CJ?" Amber turned to look towards the coach and once her eyes focused she let out a small gasp then ran to comfort her best friend. "CJ!? Why are you here?"

"I think that little question is something that we all would like to know the answer to." Saffron said.

"Can you give me a bit?" Casey queried.

"Take the time that you need. It looks like you have had a rough night." Mr McKinnon said once he had returned to his chair. A long pause followed him once he sat down.

"It's my parents…." Casey finally admitted, after the uncomfortable silence. "We had a fight… A bad one."

"Okay, what happened during this fight?" Mr McKinnon asked. Casey could feel Amber's hand tighten around hers.

"I did some things I shouldn't of."

"What did you do CJ?" Saffron's features were filled with concern.

"I accidently cursed my Dad." Casey shamefully admitted.

"Casey, look at me." Saffron ordered. "What curse did you use on him?"

"I don't know, he was yelling at me and then suddenly he clutched his throat and was unable to talk, I don't even know how it happened. I wasn't even holding my wand."

Saffron gave an audible sigh of relief. "Oh thank heavens just a silencing charm. I thought you had done something serious like turned his legs into rubber."

Casey just looked own into her mug. Remembering the moment her other spell took hold. "I wish that was all I had done."

Once again all of the McKinnon's in the room stiffened. Saffron's concern quickly came back, and forcibly turned Casey to look at her in the eyes. "CJ what else happened."

"My…. My Dad grabbed me…." Casey choked.

Immediately Mr McKinnon and Saffron knew of the severity of what was being said, making eye contact briefly before continuing the conversation.

"Did he hurt you." Mr McKinnon asked.

"I don't know." The bruise on Casey's ankle throbbed.

"Are you sure CJ? It's okay to tell us if he did."

"He didn't really hurt me," Casey whispered. "But I hurt him."

The uncomfortable silenced that followed was paramount. Both adults seemed to be reeling from the news Casey had just offered up and Amber was clinging desperately to Casey's arm.

"What did you do to hurt your Dad CJ other than the silencing charm you accidently cast." Saffron was desperately trying to coax the girl into talking.

"When Dad grabbed me I… I kicked him off me then I leapt over the back of the couch for my backpack. I knew my wand was in there and I figured if I grabbed it they would back off. But once I raised my wand to my Dad, my Mum threatened to snap it and then…. then my Dad lunged at me." Casey admitted pausing momentarily to calm down. "I panicked and used _'Flipendo',_ which ended up knocking him out."

"Wow," Amber gasped after taking this new information. "Why was your Dad so mad at you? It wasn't because of the…. girl thing was it?"

"I don't know. I think that was just the tipping point," Casey glumly replied. "My parents were never okay with sending me to Hogwarts but they relented due to the pressure Professor Flitwick and Professor Hackle put on them. But after they read the letter that Professor McGonagall sent about last week they just lost it; they said they were going to pull me out of Hogwarts."

"Pull you out of Hogwarts!? They can't do that! Can they?" Amber asked Saffron for confirmation.

"With Wizarding families I know parents can. But for a Muggle born I'm not sure how it works. There would certainly be some sort of inquiry about all of this." Saffron said.

"You can do something can't you Saffron? Dad? They can't take CJ away from Hogwarts." Amber was fierce in the defence of her friend, and it made Casey glad that she had met her on that fateful day in Flourish and Blotts.

"I'm not sure Amber." Saffron apologised. "CJ's in some big trouble at the moment. Magic is only supposed to be used by underage witches and wizards in emergencies, although from what Casey has told us that does seem to be the case."

"Are you sure we can't help?" Amber wasn't going to let this drop so easily.

"I'm not sure of anything right now Amber other than the fact you two need to go to bed." Saffron repeated. "Why don't you take CJ to one of the spare rooms and help her get settled because she looks absolutely exhausted right now; we can deal with everything else in the morning."

Amber moved to counter her cousin but in the end agreed and helped Casey make it to one of the spare rooms.

"Thanks Amber," Casey wearily offered.

"Don't mention it. Just get some sleep okay." Amber sincerely replied before Casey collapsed onto the bed before breaking down again and pulling herself into the fettle position. Her hands once again being drawn to her arms, and begun clawing into them.

"Hey don't hurt yourself." Amber soothed. She climbed up onto the bed, to try and pry Casey's hands away from her arms. Eventually Amber succeeded, and pulled Casey into a hug which she desperately clung to.

"They were really horrible to you weren't they?" Amber consoled.

"Th…The…They called me….a…a…a freak!" Casey wept.

"Shhhhhh.… It's okay CJ. Remember what I said at school? I don't care what you are. You're always going to be my best friend."

Casey ended up crying herself to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13: Jingle Bell Blues

**Chapter Thirteen: Jingle Bell Blues**

Casey wasn't sure what time she had fallen to sleep last night, but it was well past midday when she finally roused, to the sound of knocking on her door. Bleary eyed and groaning Casey sat up in the bed and looked up at the door to find Saffron poking her head through.

"Someone is here to see you CJ."

"Who?"

The door opened a little more to reveal a familiar dark haired girl. Complete with a worried facial expressions. "CJ?"

"Becca!" Casey sang.

"Hey sis," Rebecca said with a grin. She then waltzed over and plonked herself down at the foot of Casey's bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay…." Casey mumbled.

"Really? Because last I heard you used some pretty wild magic on Dad resulting in you getting your cute little but kicked out of home." Rebecca objected. "Now why don't you tell your big sis how you're really feeling?"

"I'm never going to be able to lie to you am I?"

"CJ you are a terrible liar."

"Okay then." Casey sighed. "It all started last week after I got out of the Hospital wing…."

Casey told her sister everything. Starting with the bullying she received at school, right up to the final confrontation with their Dad and her arrival at McKinnon house. By the end of the confession Casey was lying across her sister's lap completely exhausted.

"That's some heavy stuff." Rebecca replied softly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help."

"It's alright Becca." Casey whispered.

"It's not alright. I should have been there I know how he gets." Rebecca's anger towards herself grew. "I honestly thought he changed after I moved out."

"Changed?"

"Dad used to give me grief about my 'lifestyle habits', particularly when I snuck out to go to parties. He seemed to calm down a bit when I left home to go to Uni, but after hearing what you just said it seems he just redirected it at you."

"Yeah Dad's not going to win any Father of the year awards." Rebecca smiled sadly at her sister's joke. "What are we going to do Becca? All my stuff is still with _them,_ everything! But I can't go back there. I can't face them, not yet."

"I'm not asking you too. We'll figure something out." Rebecca soothed uncertainly.

"Can you? Can you get them for me?" Casey pleaded.

"I don't think that's a good idea CJ."

"Why?"

"I didn't come straight here this morning. I came via Brentwood." Rebecca admitted.

"Oh." Casey realising what her sister meant. "They didn't do anything did they?"

"They…. When they greeted me upon arriving at the house I asked where you were and they pretended that you didn't exist. Your room… They um, sort of trashed it." Rebecca tried to tell her sister all this as delicately as possible but it still brought tears to Casey's eyes.

"They really hate me…" Casey said dejectedly.

"They're just confused. They'll come around in time."

"I doubt it." Casey sniffled. "OH NO! My books! My school books are still there!"

Rebecca looked off to side trying to avoiding eye contact with her sister.

"What happened Becca." Casey asked on the verge of panic.

"I… I noticed before I left that Dad had started a fire in the back garden."

"He burnt them…." Casey deflated.

"Sorry if I had of known I would have tried to save them…." Rebecca apologised. "I barely got out with a few of my own things before they turned on me."

"At least you got some of your stuff." Casey sighed.

"I didn't say that was all I managed to grab," Rebecca playful jibbed. "I believe a certain blue bag is sitting in the back seat of my car."

"You got it!" Casey hopefully asked.

"Good thing we decided to hide it in my room otherwise it would have ended up on th… oooaaafffff" Rebecca barely had time to finish her sentence before her little sister enveloped her in bone crushing hug.

"Thank you so much! You're the best big sister in the world!"

"Well I can't let my little sister be wardrobe less," Rebecca smiled. "I am glad you told someone though CJ. It's hurt to watch you pretend to be a boy."

"Yeah," Casey reflected. "Amber helped me figure it all out."

"Well I'll have to thank her again."

"Again?" Casey asked confused.

"How do you think I found out where to find you? That little owl of hers was sitting on the bonnet of my car when I got back to it at the service station."

Casey smiled at the thought of her best friend. Amber was really looking out for her.

"So is this your wand huh?" Casey turned to see her sister pick up her wand from the bedside table.

"Yeah. Ebony, 13 ¼ inches. Quite flexible." Casey rattled off, reciting the exact same words Mr Ollivander had said to her a few months earlier.

"I'll pretend I know what the means." Rebecca's replied as she examined her sister's wand. "So, you use this to perform magic, think you can show me a spell or two?"

"Sorry sis. I'm kind of in trouble at the moment for doing that. We aren't supposed to use magic outside of school until we're of age."

"Bummer, I really wanted to see you do something cool." Rebecca lamented. "So, what do you do, wave it around and say Abracadabra?"

Before Casey could open her mouth to answer her sister's question. Rebecca held up her sister's wand and waved it around nonchalantly. Unfortunately, like all wands when held by Muggle, it rebelled against wielder.

A bang echoed through the room with a flash and Rebecca was sent flying across the bed toppling over the other side to land on awkwardly on the floor.

"SIS!"

"Ow…." Rebecca said rubbing her head. "What the hell was that? Did you do that?"

"No! No I didn't…. at least, I don't think I did." Casey responded unsure.

"Is everything okay in here?" Saffron upon hearing the commotion had entered the room to see both sisters on the floor. One of which looked particularly uncomfortable.

"Casey I thought I told you. No Magic!" Saffron scolded.

"It wasn't me! Becca was holding my wand and then she was just flung backwards."

Saffron's facial expression went from a scold to a smirk then to outright laughter.

"I guess you now know that you aren't a witch." Saffron laughed.

"Huh?" Both sisters were bewildered.

"Wands don't like it when Muggles hold them. They tend to get aggressive when they do."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me that CJ!?" Rebecca asked as she got up off the floor.

"I didn't know that would happen!" Casey retorted.

"Before you both start tearing each other apart." The interruption defusing the impending argument before it could begin. "Lunch is on the table. You should both come out and eat, especially you Casey when was the last time you ate?"

"Yesterday." Casey mumbled hoping the two elders in the room didn't hear her.

"She has a tendency to forget to eat when she's upset." Rebecca clarified. "We'll be out in a moment Saffron, thank you."

Taking a moment to find Casey's wand - which had somehow managed to end up on top of the dresser - the Jands sisters made their way out to large dining room table to find Amber, Mr McKinnon and Saffron engaged in idle conversation whilst getting stuck in to some soup. A giant pot of which stood in the centre of the table.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Amber asked Casey as she sat down next to her.

"Better than yesterday. I'm not really hungry though."

"Yes you are, you have just forgotten that you are." Rebecca had filled a bowl up for Casey and placed it in front of her sister, staring at her until she started eating. Eventually Casey caved and begrudgingly started to eat her food.

Conversation flowed around the table freely. Mr McKinnon in particular questioned Rebecca on her IT course which she was grateful for as the magical topics obviously went well over her head. Towards the end of lunch they finally turned to the one topic Casey had been dreading. What they were going to do about last night.

"Sorry to bring it up Casey but we really do need to talk about it." Saffron sympathised.

"I guess we have to talk about it sooner or later." Casey conceded.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

"Let's start with the bad so we can end on a high note." Casey reasoned that the bad news was going to really suck so it'd best to rip the band aid off quickly.

Saffron nodded pointed to one of the many letters that were scattered about the table. The one Saffron pointed to in particular was from the Ministry of Magic.

"I'm not going to lie Casey. You're in some pretty serious trouble." Casey swallowed at the news Saffron delivered as she grabbed the letter and began to read it to herself.

 _Dear Mr. Jands,_

'Great' Casey thought to herself, 'What a wonderful start'.

 _We have received intelligence that you knowingly performed the Silencio Charm and the Flipendo Jinx upon a Muggle at 34 minutes past 9 this evening at number 16, Easternway drive, Brentwood._

 _Due to the severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery you are hereby summoned to appear before a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 10am on December 21st. To discuss the charges that have been outlined in this letter._

 _Please refrain from employing any more magic at this time, as any further actions may be used as evidence against you._

 _Please enjoy your day,_

 _Belinda Fairweather_

 _Improper use of Magic Office_  
 _Ministry of Magic_

Casey fell in a frown once she had finished reading the letter. "I am so going to get expelled this time."

"Hold up Casey, that's just the bad news I haven't told you the good news yet." Saffron reminded her. "Professor McGonagall as well as Professors Flitwick and Hackle have all written letters to the Ministry in your defence. In particular they made comments about how they observed your parents treating you at the times they have met them."

"They have?" Casey said unsure. "That's good I guess."

"And you'll have all of us to vouch for you as well." Amber said cheerfully. "With so many of us backing you up they can't possibly kick you out of Hogwarts. I mean Professor McGonagall is vouching for you and she's the Headmistress! That's got to count for something."

"She's right Casey," Saffron softly smiled. "I don't think they'll expel you, you have a pretty good case here but there is one other thing we that we need to talk about before tomorrow."

"What else do we need to talk about?" Casey's panic rising rapidly.

Rebecca grabbed her sister's hand trying to comfort her. "Look sis I know what I'm about to say is going to be a little scary but I talked to Saffron a bit when I first got here and we think we might be able to…. Use this hearing to separate you from Mum and Dad."

"What do you mean separate?" Casey asked.

"Well um…. We think we can get you into some sort of foster care." Rebecca added.

"Foster care!?" Casey said bewildered. "I don't even know if I'm ready for that…."

"It would only be temporary Casey." Saffron interjected. "And it would be with a magical family until we can find a permanent place for you. Who knows if all goes well you might be able to stay here."

"CJ can stay here!?" Amber said excitedly.

"We aren't sure yet." Saffron chastised. "But from the letters I have been sending to and fro with the Ministry it's one of the options that have been proposed."

"I… I can't thank all of you enough." Casey sobbed. Tears of hope rolled down her face. "Staying here would mean so much to me."

"We can't promise anything CJ. If we go through with this you have to be prepared for whatever outcome." Mr McKinnon was adamant to make sure Casey understood. "That includes the possibility of going into foster care with a family you don't know or even if things go badly enough going back to your parents. Do you understand?"

Casey's old adage of nothing ventured nothing gained rang in her ears. If this was an opportunity to get rid of her parents for good she would seize it with everything she had.

"Yes sir." Casey answered Mr McKinnon defiantly.

"Casey please, you're Amber's best friend you can call me Greg or Mr McKinnon if can't afford to be casual. The 'sir' stuff makes me feel old."

"But Daddy you are old." Amber's comment earned a stern glare from her father whilst everyone else at the table tried to suppress their laughter. Sensing her impending doom Amber quickly hopped off her chair and made a hasty exit out of the room dragging Casey with her.

The rest of day went by in a haze. Since the topic of conversation was so heavy from Saturday and Sunday Amber did her best to distract Casey by playing video games. The upcoming hearing was only 2 days away after all.

Luckily for Casey her sister had managed to take a couple of extra personal days much to the annoyance of her boss (Rebecca had after all taken Friday off during the previous week for her friend's wedding). She had taken both Amber and Casey shopping in Guildford on Monday much to the delight of both preteens. This was partly to help Casey relax and partly to get her some new clothes for the hearing tomorrow.

So it was no surprise that on Tuesday morning Casey found herself the centre of attention, as she sat in the centre of the room whilst the other 3 females in the house fused about getting ready for Casey's hearing.

"Stop fidgeting!" Rebecca scolded.

"I'm not!" Casey replied.

"Yes you are!"

Casey was trying to sit still whilst her sister styled her hair into something that was a little more feminine. The nervousness of her hearing in a few hours was getting to her so at the present moment her right knee was shaking restlessly.

"If you like Casey, I can always cast a Legger-Locker curse on your legs." Saffron teased. She was currently in the process of transfiguring an old coat into a smaller size so as to fit Casey.

"No I'm okay." Came the quick reply. Casey tried to use her hand to stop her leg from shaking.

"Finally." Rebecca breathed.

"I don't see why I have to stay home why you all get to go to the Ministry. It's not fair; I want to see what it looks like." Amber sulked.

"Amber as I have said before you have no legitimate reason to be at the Ministry today so you will not be going." Saffron repeated for the 10th time this morning.

"But that's dumb." Amber whined.

"Maybe so, but you will heed my warning Amber. If I find out that you have followed us to London mark my words it'll be you who gets pulled out of Hogwarts." Saffron threatened. Amber 'humped' and crossed her arms.

"I think that'll about do it. What do you think girls?" Rebecca announced.

Rebecca had spent the last 10 minutes teasing her sisters hair into a light wave. She had also accented the whole look by taking a lock of hair just above her left temple and twisting it into a braid whilst threading it with Yellow and Black beads as she went.

"Oh, cute!" Amber praised from her position on the bed. Her attitude doing a complete 180. "I'm loving the braid."

"I look ridiculous." Casey said standing up.

"Excuse me, you do not." Rebecca slightly offended. "You look like any other 11 year old girl."

The other 3 girls in the room laughed as Casey blushed furiously at the complement before turning back around to face the mirror.

"Tell me again why I'm wearing a skirt." Casey asked whilst she fidgeted relentlessly with the afore mentioned article of clothing.

"Because as your sister said not 10 seconds ago you're an 11 year old girl who is about to go to a very important hearing, you need to look nice." Saffron remarked as she helped Casey put on the newly transfigured coat.

"I still don't get why I have to wear one today." Casey stubbornly replied.

"I don't understand Sis, you wore one all day yesterday when we were out shopping." Rebecca said confused before turning to Saffron. "Honestly she used to beg me to take her out dressed like this all the time. She never kicked up a fuss then."

"Well back then nobody knew who I was…." Casey admitted.

"So you're nervous." Saffron concluded.

Casey shyly nodded.

"CJ you have nothing to be nervous about." Rebecca comforted her sister. "I know this is something you want - to be a girl everyday - but if you want to do that then you're going to have to eventually let people see who you are."

"Trust me CJ nobody is going to care. And if someone does you can just zap em'." Saffron raised an eye brow at her little cousin. "I mean… don't do that. That would be wrong."

"CJ you look cute. Truly you do and I'm not just saying that because I'm your sister." Rebecca complemented. "You have been out with me loads of times before. Why is today going to be any different?"

"I guess it won't be." Casey conceded. "But what if someone makes fun of me?"

"No one is going to make fun of you CJ. I won't let them."

"But… But what if they use magic or something how are you going to stop them then." Casey's imagination was getting the better of her.

"CASEY! Stop panicking!" Rebecca shouted pulling her sister into a hug whilst she hyperventilated. "You have got to stop letting that imagination of yours go into overdrive."

"Sorry Becca." Casey apologised.

"It's alright. And if someone does have a go at you with magic…. Why do you think we have Saffron around?" Casey and Amber giggled at Rebecca's comment whilst Saffron just rolled her eyes.

"Alright girls I think it's time to get underway or we'll be late. Casey have you got your wand?"

"Yeah it's just on the bedside table." Casey answered just as Amber handed her wand before stowing it in her coat. "Okay I'm ready."

Saffron thought it'd be best to get to the Ministry of Magic via non-magical means this time. So Rebecca drove the 3 of them straight into London. The trip it's self was uneventful even though Casey's constant worrying did it's best to try and sabotage that.

"I think this is the visitor's entrance." Saffron announced when they arrived in front of an old phone box. "In we get."

"It's a tad squishy in here Saffron is this really the way into the Ministry of Magic?" Casey asked.

"Yes, of course it is." Saffron nervously replied before dialling 6,2,4,4,2.

Saffron relaxed instantly as a calm female voice echoed around the tight space as if one of the occupants was talking right at that moment. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

"Saffron McKinnon," Saffron announced as she cleared her voice before continuing. "I'm here to escort Casey Jands and Rebecca Jands to Casey's disciplinary hearing at 10am."

"Thank you." Mysterious voice said. "Visitors, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your clothes"

A soft clink rattled around the phone box as 3 badges dropped into the small little chute each with one of the occupant's name written on them. They each pinned their respective badges to their clothes.

"Visitors to the Ministry, you are all required to submit to a search and present your wands for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

The Box shuttered and then slowly sunk into the floor.

"Word of advice Rebecca. Try and keep the gawking to a minimum, Muggles aren't normally brought into the ministry." As soon as Saffron had finished giving her advice they all found themselves standing in the wide Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. The giant water fountain and the bright green fireplaces drew the most attention.

"Oh," Rebecca said trying to form other words but failing miserably,

"What did I just say Rebecca? Come on then." Saffron hurried.

Casey tried desperately not to laugh at her sisters gawking. Try as she might Rebecca couldn't help but stare; this was after all her first real experience in magical world. Before too long they arrived at the security desk and both Casey and Saffron had their wands checked by the staff before having them handed back. The truly awkward moment came when Rebecca was asked to hand over hers only for her to sheepishly reply that she wasn't a witch. That got a few stares.

Guiding them through the maze that was the Ministry of Magic Saffron eventually brought them to Level 2: The Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Casey could feel her nerves rise the moment she stepped into the department.

"Hello, I'm looking for Belinda Fairweather. I've brought Miss Casey Jands in for her hearing." Saffron coolly asked the clerk at the department's front desk.

"One moment," The clerk behind the desk quickly jotted down something on a piece of parchment before tapping it with their wand. The parchment turned into a paper aeroplane and zipped off deeper into the department. "Please take a seat."

"Can you do that?" Rebecca whispered to her little sister, clearly impressed by the magic she just saw.

"Not yet." Casey whispered back.

No sooner had they sat down a rather buff looking wizard entered the waiting area and addressed them. "Casey Jands?"

"That's me." Casey said barely above a whisper.

"Follow." The wizard's voice was gruff and hostile. Casey didn't like him very much.

Casey, Rebecca and Saffron followed the man around a series of corridors before he opened the door to a meeting room and let them in. A Witch and Wizard were already seated in the room on the far side of a conference table. The Wizard on the right looked tried and worn out, and wore slightly ruffled lime green robes.

The witch (who sat in the middle) on the other hand looked the exact opposite. She wore dark robes which tightly hugged her body and her long hair was tied up, hidden under a pointed witches hat. The wizard upon entering the room moved around the table and sat down roughly on the left.

"Mr Jands?" The witch in centre asked Casey in confusion when she entered the room, a pang of pain lanced through her heart at the miss gendering.

Luckily before Casey could say a word Saffron - who had just entered into the room with her sister - came to the rescue. "It's actually Miss Jands, Casey here identifies as a witch."

The witch in the centre turned red and hastily went through her notes and records before she found what she was looking for. "Oh, I'm so sorry _Miss_ Jands; I'm a complete scatter brain. I totally forgot about the letter Professor McGonagall had sent me. If you wouldn't mind taking a seat."

Casey nervously took the seat she was offered by the witch and sat down whilst trying not to fall into a full on panic attack.

"I'm sorry. Ms McKinnon is it?" Saffron nodded. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you and your friend to wait outside."

"If I may, I'm here as Casey's magical guardian since her parents are unable to be here." Saffron replied.

"And who might this be?" The Witch asked pointing to Rebecca.

"I'm Rebecca. I'm Casey's elder sister."

"I see. I'm sorry but only one of you may remain in here during this portion of the meeting as Casey's support. It's a silly rule I know, but a rule none the less."

Rebecca and Saffron briefly shared look before Rebecca nodded to the witch and went to sit outside.

"I'll be right out here sis." Rebecca whispered to her sister before slipping out of the room. Casey was nearly in tears to see her go.

"If we're ready to begin I'll make the introductions." She said before flicking her wand resulting a lone quill magically rising from down the table and start scribing down the events of the hearing. "My name is Belinda Fairweather I run the Improper use of Magic Office department. To my right is my lovely colleague Mark Vale from the underage witches and wizards ward at St Mungo's and on my left is ever charming Tabet Abanel member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. The three of us will be conducting the investigation this morning."

"Hello." Casey squeaked.

"Let's see here." Madam Fairweather said as she picked up a piece of parchment and began reading. "The charges are as follows, that Mr… I mean Miss Jands. Knowingly and fully aware of the illegality of her actions on December 18th at 34 minutes past 9, deliberately cast the Silencio Charm as well as the Flipendo Jinx not only in the presence of a Muggle but upon one as well. These actions constitute an offence against… blah, blah, blah… lots of legal mumbo jumbo we don't care about…"

Casey went from feeling extraordinarily nervous to confused as Madam Fariweather read through the charges, seemingly skipping over all of the important bits. Mr Vale meanwhile seemed like he was about to fall asleep and Mr Abanel was fixing Casey with a cold hard stare.

"….A bunch more boring stuff…. stuff about 2 members of the Accidental Reversal Squad being dispatched…. hmmmm, Okay." Madam Fairweather said dropping the parchment down in front of her. "Basically the reason we are here to today is to find out why _Mmmm_ …. _Miss_ Jands thought it was necessary to cast the spells she did; knowing full well what the consequences could be. So Miss Jands care to fill us in?"

Casey swallowed hard not knowing what to say or do next but with a comforting nod from Saffron she steeled her nervous and began. "I'm not sure where to start but I'll do my best."

"It's alright; the start is always a good place to begin." Madam Fairweather encouraged.

For the 3rd time in as many days Casey retold her story with as much detail as she could remember, eventually finishing the tale when the Knight bus dropped her off at McKinnon house.

"I was wondering how you got to our place." Saffron mused once Casey had finished. "I thought I heard a bang that sounded familiar."

"That's quite the story indeed." Mr Abanel proclaimed. "That is if it's true of course."

"Come on now Tabet you don't think she's lying do you?" Madam Fairweather asked shocked.

"I don't know what to think. All I know for sure is what happened when my partner and I arrived at their house to reverse the charm, and what she said contradicts what the Muggles told us."

"But I'm telling the truth! Honest!" Casey blurted out.

"Really? Care to take some Veritaserum to prove it?"

"Enough Tabet. That was out of line, I hardly think we need to use that method on an 11 year old. Just look at her, she's terrified of what's going to happen. What possible reason would she have to lie?" Madam Fairweather retorted.

"That's the question isn't it?" Mr Abanel speculated. "I find it hard to believe that an 11 year old can cast a Silencing charm without a wand. Something doesn't add up."

"Tabet, how many times have you sat in that very chair complaining about some underage witch or wizard performing some form of magic that is beyond them? Just last week you were complaining about 13 year old wizard who accidentally disappeared a whole car when they were about to be hit by it." Madam Fairweather was getting more and more frustrated with her colleague as she continued her rant. "Dammit Tabet not everything is a conspiracy, kids do crazy stuff when their angry or scared. They're not about to turn into the next dark Lord or Lady just because they did something above average. I just don't get why you're so up in arms about this little one casting a simple Silencing Charm."

Before Mr Abanel could offer his rebuttal he was quickly over ran over by the one person who hadn't said anything yet.

"Bel, he's just upset that a Muggle punched him." Mr Vale tiredly answered.

"My Dad punched you?" Casey bleated out.

"I wasn't punched by a dam Muggle!" Mr Abanel refused.

"Seriously Tabet? This is what all this is about." Madam Fairweather confirmed giving Mr Abanel a cold look that silenced him. "You're upset because Miss Jands' father did something out of her control."

"That's not it!"

Madam Fairweather released a long sigh before she rubbed her temples with her fingers. "I am so sorry about this. Miss Jands, Ms McKinnon, do you mind waiting outside whilst I finish talking to my colleague?"

"No not all." Saffron quickly agreed and promptly escorted Casey outside before the shouting could begin.

"CJ! So. How'd it go?" Rebecca anxiously asked when they appeared outside of the room.

"I don't know. Two of them were arguing, so they kicked us out." Casey said.

"Why were they arguing? That seems a bit odd."

"Apparently Dad punched a wizard."

"Wh...What!?" Rebecca turned to Saffron stunned who for conformation nodded in agreement. "That's not going to affect their decision will it?"

"It shouldn't." Saffron responded. "But all we can do now is wait."

Casey and her chaperones waited patiently outside of the conference room for 10 minutes whilst the Ministry officials inside argued. Casey knew they were finished when a very rattled Mr Abanel barged out of the room and stomped down the corridor. She was happy he was gone.

"You can all come back in now." Madam Fairweather's tired voice echoed from inside the room. "Sorry about Tabet. He can be a bit stressful at times, but his hearts in the right place."

"It's fine." Saffron chipped in as she sat back down in her previous chair. "Have you reached a decision about CJ?"

"Oh, yes of course." Casey nerves were rose to their absolute peak and her right knee was jittering like crazy. "I see no reason to punish Miss Jands for her accidental magical outburst; even the one spell she did deliberately cast was justified. I do unfortunately have to issue you with an official warning Casey."

Madam Fairweather sadly smiled at Casey as she handed her a length of parchment that officially stated what she had done and not to engage in anymore acts of underage witchery.

"Thanks for not expelling me." Casey chocked. Her sister came up behind her and rubbed her back.

"Expel you? I hardly think expulsion would be necessary. You were after all defending yourself and that is a perfectly reasonable excuse for any underage witch or wizard to employ magic." Mr Vale clarified.

"But… but the teachers said we used any form Magic outside of school we'd be expelled." Casey panicked. Still not believing what Mr Vale had told her.

"CJ calm down, they just said you're not being expelled." Rebecca assured. "You have got to stop letting your imagination get the better of you."

"I'd listen to your sister Casey; that sort of thinking will only get you into trouble." Madam Fairweather repeated. "It is not your fault your Dad attacked you, so please stop thinking the worst of the situation. That does however bring us to the other matter we need to discuss this morning."

"Where is she going to live." Saffron confirmed earning a nod from Madam Fairweather and in turn making Casey shiver.

"I will admit we are in a bit of a tricky situation here. Miss Jands… Rebecca I mean. Is it true that you have filed for custody with the Muggle authorities?"

"Um, Yes. That's correct." Rebecca answered awkwardly much to Casey's surprise. "I lodged it yesterday."

"Hmmmm, I wish you hadn't that'll complicates things somewhat." Madam Fairweather sighed. "I was hoping to keep this entirely on our side but if you have already filed papers to the Muggle Government it'll make it difficult to intervene without compromising the statue of secrecy…. What do you think Mark?"

"I think the Obliviatory squad should be able to manage altering the memories of anyone involved. The tricky part will be re-obtaining all the paperwork. But perhaps we can use this to our advantage and settle the issue on both sides at the same time."

"You have an idea?" Madam Fairweather queried.

"If we allow the Muggle process to run its natural course their records would match ours. A simple Mutare Memoria Charm is all that would be needed to alter the Muggle official's memory and make them absolutely convinced that Casey needs to be removed from her parents." Mr Vale hypothesised. "The only down side is Casey would need to supply a memory for us to base the Charm on."

"Supply a memory I don't understand?" Rebecca said.

"Casey would need to supply us with a memory of her father abusing her so we could implant in the Muggle official's minds that she's being mistreated. It's fairly straight forward, however it would be very uncomfortable for Casey, as to her it would be like reliving the ordeal all over again."

"Is there another way?" Rebecca asked. "I don't want her to go through something like if she doesn't have too."

"It's okay… I'll do it." Casey whispered before anyone else could offer another response.

"Are you sure Casey?" Madam Fairweather asked cautiously. Casey nodded and Mr Vale came around to her side of the table pulling out his wand as he sat down.

"Now Casey I need you think of a memory when your dad hurt you. Try to remember one were your magic wasn't involved if you can, that'll help keep the questions to a minimum." Mr Vale softly requested. "Once you have a memory in your head I want you to think of that and only that, and when you're ready I'll extract it."

Casey closed her eyes and thought of the worse memory she could think of that involved her dad. She ended up selecting the time he slapped her when she was 10; it was all because she accidentally broke the T.V. when she was dancing around in the living room. The force of the slap had sent her sprawling to the ground.

Mr Vale's wand tip tapped Casey on her temple and the moment she felt touch of the honey colour wood she immediately started shaking. Try as she might Casey couldn't open her eyes and the memory took control filling up her entire body; she could feel the sharp sting of the slap pulse on her cheek. Luckily no sooner had they started, they had finished, and Mr Vale tapped the silvery strand of the memory into a small vial.

"Thank you Casey I know that wasn't pleasant." Mr Vale comforted.

"If no one else objects, I think that'll be all for today. I'll have the Obliviatory squad get onto this right away and file the change of guardianship to Ms Rebecca Jands." Madam Fairweather said, sorting out her parchments.

"Thank you Madam Fairweather, Mr Vale. We really appreciate this." Saffron thanked the two ministry officials before motioning to Rebecca to help Casey out of her chair.

Casey left the conference room in daze. Her sister was now her legal guardian. Nowhere in her wildest imagination had she thought that that would be the outcome of today. Her sister would be looking after her now. Her sister! Casey couldn't find the words express her feelings.

"Sorry you had to find out about the adoption that way CJ, I was hoping to make it a surprise Christmas present." Rebecca apologised. "CJ? Are you alright? You haven't said anything yet. You are okay with me being your guardian aren't you?"

Casey responded by jumping onto her sister and hugging her with all her might, fearing that if she let go her sister would disappear.

"Let it all out Sis, I'm not going anywhere."

In the end Rebecca did have to go somewhere, she had to return to Manchester for work and study. Unfortunately Rebecca's place in Manchester couldn't accommodate Casey staying there as well so they arranged for Casey to spend the rest of her Christmas break with the McKinnons. Rebecca promised her sister she'd get a new place where they both could stay by Easter.

Casey didn't realise how much staying with the McKinnons bothered her until Rebecca left. With all that had happened at the start of the holiday's she desperately wanted to spend time with her sister. Casey and Rebecca did end up spending Christmas with the McKinnons at Saffron's request and it was the first time in years they had actually enjoyed the holiday.

"I wish I had got as many presents as you did." Amber was sulking because Casey had got nearly twice the amount of presents than she had got.

"Most of my gifts were clothes or new school books to replace the ones that my parents destroyed. I didn't really get anything fun like you did." Casey replied.

"How could you say that!? Clothes are heaps of fun!"

"Okay maybe just a little." Casey blushed. Amber promptly gave her friend an eye roll.

"So, you going to wear these clothes to school next week?" Amber curiously asked.

Casey had thought long and hard about whether she wanted to go back to Hogwarts as a witch. She was grateful that Professor McGonagall had the foresight to buy her some extra time to think about it. Ever since her fight with her parents she has been 2nd guessing herself, the thought of being hurt like that again was one of her primary concerns. In the end she truly didn't know anymore.

"I don't know. I'm kind of nervous about switching school uniforms, I'm not sure if I'll be able to deal with all the stuff that could happen; the rumour mill will go crazy."

"I hate to burst your bubble but the rumour mill is already going crazy. Do you know how many letters I've received asking if you'll be coming back to Hogwarts as a witch?" Amber pressed.

"Ergh!" Casey slumped into the coach. "Why does everyone want to know? Why do they care!?"

"Well it is kind of interesting." Amber jested. "Plus everyone still wants to know how you got into the girl's dorms. Bones and his…, baboons…, still think you know some secret spell that bypasses the Castle."

"Well their idiots." Casey huffed, crossing her arms.

"Not going to argue with you there." Amber absently added before going back to sorting through her presents.

"Speaking of rumours, did you hear anything from Liz?"

Amber stopped what she was doing and visibly deflated, before turning away from her best friend.

"Amber what happened?" Casey asked concerned.

"I… I've been waiting for the best opportunity to tell you…" Amber murmured.

"Tell me what?"

"Liz isn't coming back." The weight of Amber's sentence felt like a punch to the stomach. Ever since their trip on the Hogwarts Express back to London Casey always thought that Lizza in the end would picking her and Amber. It hurt to hear what her actual decision was.

"I was really looking forward to sharing a dorm with you and Liz." Amber lamented.

"Yeah so was I." Casey quietly replied.

"I'm not sure if I hate her or not…" Amber confessed.

"You don't hate her Amber. You saw how sad she was whilst she was at Hogwarts; hopefully this'll make her happy."

"Yeah, maybe. It's just I didn't think it'd actually happen."

"Neither did I." Casey was equally as devastated. "We need to make sure we write to her though. We did promise."

"I'll try…"

Amber and Casey for who knows how long sat in front of the fireplace thinking of Lizza. Amber had shown Casey the letter Lizza had sent them and it broke her heart even more to read it. Lizza's tear drops scattered all over the parchment were a clear indicator, the decision wasn't easy for her.

"Hey Amber do you mind if I talk to CJ for a second? I got to go soon and I have one last present to give her." Rebecca was already dressed ready to leave. Casey wanted her to stay but her sister had to get back to Manchester for the Boxing Day rush. Working in retail was a terrible inconvenience over the holidays.

"Sure thing Rebecca, I'll be in the kitchen CJ." Amber got up to give the two sisters some privacy.

"You look terrible sis. What happened? I thought you liked all your gifts."

"I do, it's just… Liz isn't coming back to Hogwarts with us." Casey sighed.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Rebecca sat down next to her sister. "She was your Australian friend, right?"

"Yeah, she was," Casey sniffled, whipping the last of her tears away. "So what else did want to give me?"

"Well I've been ahhh…. I believe exchanging owls is correct wizarding term?"

Casey nodded.

"Yes well, I've been exchanging owls with this Professor McGonagall and I have something for you." Rebecca finished her sentence by handing her sister an envelope.

Opening the envelope Casey found a neatly printed out letter addressed to her Headmistress.

 _Dear Professor McGonagall_

 _I, Rebecca Jane Jands hereby give permission to Professor Minerva McGonagall Headmistress of Hogwarts to immediately start the administering of the Genus Invertus Potion for Miss Casey Jands as she transitions from 'Wizard' to 'Witch' at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

 _Singed,_

 _Rebecca Jands_

 _Legal Guardian and Sister to Miss Casey Jands._

Upon finishing the letter Casey immediately flung herself at her sister enveloping her in a desperate hug whilst bittersweet tears fell down her face.


	14. Chapter 14: An Obvious Rumour

**Chapter Fourteen: An Obvious Rumour**

The clickety clack of the Hogwarts express echoed throughout the train. Amber and Casey sat in their compartment silently, partly due to them having nothing much left to talk about since they both spent Christmas together, and partly because Amber was still disappointed in Casey because she decided to dress in masculine clothes for their ride back to Hogwarts.

"Hurry up CJ or we're going to miss the carriages." Amber snapped.

"Just a sec Amber. Let me finish putting on my shoes." Casey replied.

"CJ nobody takes 10 minutes to put on their shoes. Hurry up or I'm heading back without you."

Amber stormed out of their compartment and disembarked from the train closely followed by dishevelled Casey who nearly tripped on her untied shoelaces. Casey's dawdling did have an effect however and when Amber exited the train she found that most of the carriages had gone only leaving about a dozen students left on the platform.

"Hey Amber, CJ! Come with us!" Oakley Bones waved from the carriage he was currently sitting in. He was accompanied by two of his partners in crime Vince and Zack. Amber stopped dead in her tracks and shared an awkward glance with Casey.

"I don't know Amber. They probably just want to probe me with questions." Casey whispered to her.

"Come on it'll be fine; they'll find out everything tomorrow anyway." Amber whispered back.

"That doesn't mean they can't go spreading rumours around tonight." Casey shot back. "Remember what they did to me last term."

"Look we're back at school now, so if they do something stupid you can give them a taste of your Jelly-Legs curse."

"I'm starting to think you're a bad influence on me." Casey replied with a smirk. "If Saffron was here she'd be kicking you up the bum right about now."

"Good thing she isn't here then." Amber laughed, before grabbing Casey by the hand and pulling her towards the carriage.

The carriages as per usual were being pulled by seemingly nothing. The two girls boarded the carriage and Bones his and crew shuffled around to make room for their fellow first years.

"Good evening boys." Amber said cheerily. "So where's Peter?"

"Ahhh…. Hi Amber." Vince said slightly taken back by Amber's nicety. "He stayed at Hogwarts with his sister over Christmas on account of his parents going to visit his brother in India."

"I didn't know Peter had a brother as well as a sister."

"Yeah he does. Works as a curse breaker over there." Vince revealed. "Apparently he got banged up when he tried to undo some dark magic on the Taj Mahall; since he couldn't travel his parents went to see him instead."

"That doesn't sound like fun." Amber responded.

"Nope. Especially after all the stories we hear from Peter about his crazy brother." Bones reminisced. "How about you two though. I heard you both had some 'fun' over the break."

Casey let a small 'Epp!' when Bones made his comment causing everyone in the carriage to look at her with a weird expression. This in turn caused the poor girl to blush furiously whilst she buried her head in her hands.

"Yeah… we got up to some 'fun' as you called it." Amber covered for her friend.

"Really? Because the way we heard it CJ here nearly got his but kicked out of Hogwarts." Bones jibbed. "What did you do CJ, Jinx someone so hard you knocked them out?"

Casey's face went white and Amber gasped when she heard Bones give his quip. The boys were too busy laughing to notice the girl's reactions.

"CAN IT!" Amber yelled at the boys whilst kicking them all in the shins, causing the laughter to die down almost immediately.

"What the hell Amber we were just making a joke about the…." Vince started before he realised neither Amber nor Casey were laughing. "Wait, that actually happened!?"

"Yeah." Casey softly uttered. "I accidentally Cursed/Jinxed my dad after… some stuff happened."

"Blimey. No wonder Noah said to give you some space." Zack marvelled.

"Why would Noah ask you guys to give CJ some space?" Amber curiously asked.

"You don't know? Noah was the one who told us to give CJ a break." Zack clarified. "Since Peter couldn't join us for the holidays we asked Noah to hang with us. We were going to ask you CJ but Noah said you were dealing with the aftermath of some hearing."

"But how did Noah find out." Amber unintentionally said out loud. The boys all shrugged. They had no idea.

"Wait what was Noah's last name again?" Casey curiously asked the group.

"Abanel. Why?"

"That's it." Casey uttered. "The scary guy at my hearing last's name was Abanel. That was probably Noah's Dad!"

"Noah's Dad was at your hearing? Sucks man. He can be a bit intense." Bones replied.

"I know… I found out the hard way." Casey mumbled, her voice noticeably dropping.

"Speaking of this hearing thing you had to go to, we were chatting a bit with Noah and we," Bones pointed to the other boys in the carriage. "Were wondering if thi….."

"And I'm going to stop you right there." Amber interjected cutting of Bones abruptly. Amber had a feeling she knew were this conversation was going and was going to do everything in her power to head it off at the pass.

"If you are about to ask CJ how s…" Amber paused briefly due to Casey vigorously shaking her head. " _They_ got into the girls dormitories. I swear to god that I am going to kick your shins so hard that you'll be feeling it till next week."

"But…."

"Feeling. It. Next. Week." Amber punctuated each word viciously.

"Okay, okay we won't ask." Zack said trying to salvage the conversation. "We were just wondering if it's related to the hearing thing that CJ had to go to."

"It was, in a way." Casey replied much to Amber's surprise, she wasn't expecting her friend to offer up information without a fight.

"Really? Because there's a pool going around and we just wanted to know to get ahead on it. We'll cut you in on the profits if you give us the heads up." Bones weaselling his way back into the conversation.

"Argh!" Casey groaned. "Seriously guys I don't want to talk about it."

"You heard her!" Amber yelled back, kicking Bones. "And that's horrible starting a betting circle on CJ; you should be ashamed of yourselves."

"We didn't start it, honest!" Vince defended, oblivious to Amber's earlier slip up. "It was a bunch of 5th years; we just wanted to earn a few honest Sickles."

"All of you just drop it! Can we _please_ just talk about something normal like school or something?" Casey quickly added before Amber could launch into another tirade.

With Casey shutting down the conversation the topic did in fact move onto the subject of school with each individual complaining about which subjects they liked the least. During the walk back up to the Castle Oakley and the other first years gave their condolences to Amber and Casey when Amber told them that Lizza wasn't coming back to Hogwarts. They had to stop for a bit so Amber could have a cry which nearly set Casey off as well.

A weird vibe filled the Common Room once the 1st year Hufflepuffs entered through the barrel. Once the two dozen or so occupants realised who had entered everyone seemed to slow down their conversations to see what was going to happen.

Amber quickly grabbed Casey's wrist to prevent her from running off like she did last time. Amber couldn't imagine what was running through her friend's mind at this very second. It had after all been very exhausting 3 weeks and during that time Casey hadn't stepped foot back into the Hufflepuff Common Room.

"You can do this." Amber whispered in her best friend's ear, with a whimper answering it.

"You coming CJ?" Vince asked, as the 1st year boys were about to head into the boy's dormitories.

"Um…." Casey stammered.

"You guys go on ahead. We'll catch you at dinner." Amber cautiously interlocked her arm with Casey's and pulled her towards the girl's dormitories. Hoping that the encouragement would get her moving.

It did so and as they moved every eye in the common room followed them. Amber opened the door to the girl's dormitories and as they stepped through the thresh hold; she could feel Casey stiffen beside her. But just like the last time, when Casey stepped through the door she was welcomed.

"CJ?" A stunned Juliet asked as she stood in the hallway with some of the other 5th year girls who were in an avid discussion about Professor Longbottom no longer teaching at Hogwarts.

"Hi Juliet. Love to stay and chat but we have to get changed for dinner." Before Juliet could even offer a retort Amber and Casey hurriedly entered the 1st year's dorm room and closed the door with both young witches collapsing onto the ground.

"Well that could have gone worse." Amber finally said after releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"What!? How could that have gotten worse? Everyone was staring at us like we were some carnival sideshow." Casey exclaimed.

"Well no one called you any names and Bones and his nincompoops didn't give you any grief on the trip up." Amber reasoned.

"We have very different views on what amounts to 'giving us grief' Amber." Casey challenged before turning to take in the room before her. "So this is the girl's dorm huh? It looks just like the boy's dorm, except cleaner."

"What did you expect? Rows of ribbon and lace with the walls painted pink?"

"I guess?" Casey said before helping Amber off the floor. "So, I take it that bed is mine?"

Casey walked over to the third bed in room which had her trunk at the base of it but that's not what gave it away. Amber's bed and dresser were covered in her possessions so it was easy to tell to which one was hers, it was Lizza's bed that gave the contrast. The Australian girl's bed had been completely stripped down to the point of the mattress being removed, and all of Lizza belongings (including her trunk) were absent.

"She's really not coming back, is she?" Amber sniffed.

Amber sat on the edge of her bed trying desperately not to cry again. Casey came and sat next to her whilst Amber just leaned into her best friends shoulder.

"You and Lizza are the first real friends I've ever had you know." Amber said after a long silence. "I really thought we'd be the kind of friends that go on adventures."

"We still are friends Amber we're just a little further away." Casey quietly responded.

"CJ she's literally on the other side of the world." Amber whined.

"I know Amber, but remember what you told me when you moved here from Canada. Places aren't that far once you take Magic into account."

"Maybe…"

In the end Amber and Casey didn't much feel like going to dinner so they barricaded themselves in their room for the night and went to sleep pretty soon after. Amber tossed and turned in her bed all night before she eventually got up and ignited their room's hearth. She had grown so accustomed to the warmth that followed Lizza around that she couldn't sleep without it.

Amber sat curled up on the floor with the quilt from her bed wrapped around her whilst she stared at the flicking flames. Her thoughts drifting to what Hogwarts would like without Lizza.

Amber woke the following morning from a pillow been thrown at her by Casey. She had slept last night albeit not that well and her back was hurting from sleeping on stone. The rude awakening didn't help either.

"Why are you sleeping on the floor Amber?" Casey asked after Amber regained consciousness from having a pillow thrown at her.

"Good morning to you too CJ." Amber shot. "I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to sit up. I guess I feel asleep on the floor." Amber yawned.

"I'ma just gona go ahead and pretend that's normal. So, what do you want to do about the bathroom, you want a shower first or second? Just please don't be like Vince and skip it until the evening, I have to actually sit next to you all day."

"Eww, as if I would skip my morning shower." Amber said slightly offended. "I normally have one before Liz so I… so I think I should have mine first."

"Okie Doki then, more of a sleep time for me." Casey replied before slamming her head back down into her pillow to catch some more sleep, much to Amber's bemusement.

Amber gathered up her clothes for the day and entered the bathroom for a nice refreshing shower which did wonders in not only helping her improving her mood, but also ease the soreness from sleeping on the floor. She hoped it would have the same effect on Casey once she had hers, Amber had a feeling she would be a little wound up this morning.

"You're turn." Amber said upon exiting the shower and throwing back the pillow Casey threw at her earlier.

"Okay jeez, I'm not like Liz. You don't have to drag me out of bed like you do with her." Casey said before gulping at her mistake.

"It's okay. Go have your shower."

Casey got out of bed and spent the next 10 minutes rummaging through her trunk, backpack and, dresser looking for something. Amber was sitting on her bed brushing out her hair when Casey finally gave a loud groan in frustration.

"Is there something wrong CJ?" Amber said trying to suppress her giggles.

Casey stopped what she was doing and froze in place before turning to Amber. "Where are they Amber?"

"Where's what? I have no idea what you're talking about." Amber's snickers only intensified as Casey's anger towards her grew; an action that told Casey exactly what she wanted to know.

Casey snatched up her wand and marched across the room furious, pointing her wand at her friend accusingly. "Amber Jade McKinnon, I swear to all that is holy, I am going to Jinx you into next week if you don't tell me where they are."

"Where what are?" Amber said nonchalantly. She was still brushing out her hair and completely ignoring the fact that Casey had her wand pointed at her.

"You know what." Casey snapped, getting more frustrated. "Now give me back my pants!"

Amber finally cracked and laughed a little at her friend's antics before crossing her arms across her chest. "Jinx me all you want CJ. I'm not telling you were I hid them."

The two stared at each other and Casey's grip around her wand tightened. Just when Amber thought Casey was about to fire off a spell, her arm dropped to her side.

"BITCH!" Casey yelled. She then threw her wand onto the bed before gathering up her new school uniform.

"You're welcome." Amber sang as the door to the bathroom slammed closed.

The two friends walked to breakfast with Casey giving Amber the cold shoulder, she was still mad at Amber for the stunt she had pulled. Luckily for them nobody had noticed the pair leave their dormitory so they managed to slip through common room unnoticed.

"I hate you."

"Let's hear you say that when your birthday rolls around." Amber smirked.

Amber was grinning ear to ear with her first accomplishment of the day and took a small amount of delight seeing her friend no longer hiding her true self. Even if said friend was being particularly stubborn this morning, not to mention fidgety.

"Quit pulling on your tights they're not going to fall down." Amber chastised.

"Hey, you're used to it." Casey grumbled. Once again pulling on her tights. "I don't know how you're so comfortable with wearing them."

"I've been wearing them all through Primary school remember. Besides they're really comfy on a cold day."

"They are kind of warm." Casey blushed.

The pair rounded the corner into the foyer and the entrance to the great hall came into view causing Casey to freeze in place.

"Come on CJ, it'll be fine. It wasn't so bad last night and this morning you did fine." Amber encouraged. "Just take it one step at a time."

Amber watched her friends breathing accelerate whilst she desperately tried to maintain her composure. "I'm sorry Amber but I don't think I'm ready to head in there just yet, besides I'm supposed to see Professor McGonagall this morning."

"CJ, you can't keep putting this off, the longer you wait the worse it'll be."

"I'm not putting it off, I promise. I really do need to see Professor McGonagall this morning." Casey pleaded. Amber looked into her friend's eyes and saw that she was in fact not lying.

"I'll see you in Potions." Amber sighed, she the gave her friend a hug, and then walked into the great hall.

The great hall was an unusual bustle of activity this morning as various students caught up with each other to discuss their holidays. Even the few teachers that were in the hall were engaged in idle chitchat. Amber found a spot down the far end of the Hufflepuff table away from most of the other students and began grabbing her self some breakfast. She was just biting into some eggs on toast when Nocturne came flying in a dropped a simple letter on her plate sending scrambled eggs everywhere.

* * *

 _Dear Amber and CJ,_

 _Hi girls, I'm sorry I'm not there with you at Hogwarts…. Yesterday was particularly sucked when I realised tomorrow you both would be returning to Hogwarts without me._

 _I still don't know if you'll forgive me about the decision I made. I don't know if I can forgive myself…. My mum has barely even looked at me in the past 2 weeks; she's still upset I rejected Hogwarts. She really wanted me to go to the same school as her._

 _No matter my choice someone loses. Am I a bad person because I made the choice that would make me the least sad?_

 _Anyway as it turns out school over here is 6 months ahead of you guys so I'll skipping ahead to 2nd year in a few weeks; I've been studying like mad to catch up. I'm still super excited to go to Watarrka though._

 _My cousin Balun and my friend Taliyah have been helping me to catch up, we've known each other for forever. I do wish they'd stop making jokes about how dumb I am though, I'm only 6 months behind after all and I can still cast spells that they can't._

 _I'll get them back when we go out flying though. They stand no chance keeping up with me and they know it, so it's all in good fun._

 _You both will be fine without me after all you both have helped me way more than I have ever helped either of you. You are some of the best friends I have ever had._

 _Thinking of you both,_

 _Your friend,_

 _Liz_

 _P.S. CJ if anyone gives you crap about being a girl, tell them that I will personally come back over there and give them the biggest ass kicking they've ever had._

* * *

Amber finished the letter from Liz with mixed feelings. She was still angry with her that she had stayed in Australia, but also felt sorry for her for all the pain she was feeling. At least she's a little happier Amber thought to herself.

Before Amber could really process what Lizza had written in her letter Lucy and Juliet slid onto the bench in front of her.

"What do you want Juliet?" Amber said with little more venom than was probably warranted.

"Amber you wound me," Juliet asked with mock hurt, before she managed to catch Amber's expression. "Did we catch you at a bad time?"

"I was just reading a letter I got."

Before Amber realised what was happening Juliet had grabbed Lizza's letter and had started reading it. Juliet and Lucy only managed to read the first few lines but that's all they needed to see.

"What the hell Juliet." Amber shouted, snatching the letter back off the senior girls. "You can't just go around reading other people's mail."

"Whoa… Lizza isn't coming back to Hogwarts?" Juliet bleated out. "I was wondering why she wasn't with you and CJ yesterday."

"Well it's none of your business." Amber snapped. "Buzz off so I can finish my breakfast and find CJ."

"Speaking of CJ," Lucy remembered. "We have a question about him."

"I'm not feeding either of you anymore gossip." Amber said flatly. "You'll just have to go find someone else to fuel your rumours."

"Amber darling, we do our very best to fact check anything that might come past our ears." Lucy said elegantly, earning eyebrow raise from Amber. "Seriously Amber we do, that's why we are here. We were on our way to breakfast when I swear I saw CJ heading up to the third floor wearing a skirt. We tried to catch up, but dam that kid can move."

"And since we can't find out straight from the horse's mouth we're asking you," Juliet continuing on from Lucy. "Your CJ's best friend, and with what happened last term, not to mention last night has got a lot of people talking and we just want to know what's going on, you know, to help clear up the confusion."

"No, you just want to make a quick Sickle." Amber shot back. "I know you both have a bet on what's going on."

"We don't…"

"Don't deny it." Amber fumed, her anger rising. "I talked to Bones last night so I know you helped orchestrate it. If you want to know what's going on with CJ you'll have to ask her."

The moment the words escaped her lips Amber hands shot to her mouth. Unfortunately, this time Juliet and Lucy picked up on her slip up.

"Her?" Lucy said curiously.

"So, CJ is a girl." Juliet said with a devilish smile. "I knew it. Bones and Sharp are going to be so pissed that they lost the bet."

"Well that's sort of… true." Amber said quietly before immediately regretting it.

"What do you mean sort of?" Lucy asked, stopping her celebration with Juliet.

"I… I really shouldn't say. CJ made me swear not too until s… until she was ready." Amber said ashamed. "She's going to Jinx for sure for saying what I've said to you already."

"CJ is transgender isn't he?" Juliet asked quietly so nobody else around them could hear.

"Yes _she_ is." Amber said emphasising the correct pronoun. "Please don't out her just yet, hopefully she'll come out and say it at lunch. So please a few hours that's all I ask."

"Alright we'll give you till lunch." Lucy conceded.

"Trans huh?" Juliet clucked. "Do you know if anyone picked that Lu?"

"I think a Ravenclaw boy did." Lucy mused. "He'll make quite a score if it's true."

"Ergh," Amber grimaced. "How can you talk so casually about bet like that? It's disgusting. And you call yourselves Hufflepuffs."

Feed up with Lucy and Juliet, Amber rose from her seat before grabbing an apple off the table and made her way down to the dungeons. When the Potions room came into view Casey was standing out the front already talking with a couple of Ravenclaw's who were waiting for class to start. Amber was surprised not to see Noah talking to his potion partner like they usually did before class. The contrast between last term and today was strikingly different.

"Hey Amber," Casey said with a lopsided smile.

"Hey CJ, what are you lot talking about?" The tone of Amber's voice immediately putting everyone else on guard.

"CJ was just telling us why he…. I mean why she's dressed like a like a girl." Gail Page one of the Ravenclaw girls awkwardly replied. "Sorry CJ, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."

"It's okay; it took me some time to get used to it." Casey admitted.

"It's not okay Casey, it's rude." Amber said defiantly. " _She's_ not dressed like a girl Page, she _is_ a girl. How would you like it if I started calling you 'Mr Page' and started referring to you as 'him'?"

"Not very good I guess," The Ravenclaw said shyly. "Sorry again CJ."

Amber stared at Casey; if Casey wasn't going to stand up for herself she would do it for her.

"You do look a lot cuter now though," Bianca Trusworth complemented. "Way better than when you were a boy. What did you do with your hair?

Amber was about to jump in again before Casey cut in before her. "My sister styled it for me with some help from Amber's Cousin. You think it looks alright?"

"Yeah! It totally suits you, that braid is so cute!"

"Thanks. I wasn't sure if…"

"Holy crap! The rumours are true?" Oakley Bones and the rest of his sortie finally walked up to the Potions classroom, only for their jaws to hit the floor when they saw Casey.

"And what rumour might that be." Amber's aggression taking them totally all off guard.

"Ahhhh…" Was all the boys were able to produce.

"Well go on spit it out."

"Well…. Um, we were just surprised to see CJ dressed like a chick." Vince nervously replied. "I mean someone said he was walking around in a skirt at breakfast but I didn't believe it until I saw it just now."

"SHE! Isn't dressed like anything!" Amber spat getting right up into Vince's face. "She's a girl, so of course her uniform includes a skirt. Or do we need to take another trip to the Common Room to prove who she really is."

"Amber, please calm down." Casey said pulling on her arm.

"No, these four dunder heads have been giving you crap since we started school and I'm sick of it."

"Amber we're sorry we didn't know CJ was a tranny."

The moment the words escaped Oakley's lips everyone knew he had messed up big time, including Oakley himself. Casey slumped against the wall and the Ravenclaws stepped back shocked. Amber though was truly terrifying. In years following the incident outside of the Potions Classroom everyone would always say: Do not make fun of Casey in front of Amber.

 _"Everte Statum!"_

Amber caught everyone off guard and whilst Oakley was fumbling for his own wand he was sent flying. The only problem was that - Amber being Amber - wasn't all that good with spells. So when she sent her jinx at Oakley it also backfired and sent her sprawling backwards with the same amount of force.

Both students landed with a 'thump', the wind being knocked out of both of them. The bang from the spell alerted Professor Slughorn who had opened the Potion room's door to see what the entire racket was about.

"What's going on out here?" He asked as he surveyed the chaos outside his Potions room.

"Ah, nothing to serious Professor." Zack said, whilst he quickly tried to come up with a lie on the spot. "Oakley bet McKinnon a Sickle that she couldn't knock a ball down the hallway. She accidentally backfired the spell which rebounded sending her and Oakley flying."

"Dear me, you should really keep those kinds of games to the school grounds." Professor Slughorn warned. "Well then Amber did you manage to knock ball down the corridor?"

"Huh?" Amber dizzily responded before she realised the opportunity she had. "I managed it. Surprisingly."

"Those practice sessions with Professor Hackle must be paying off then hey, Amber." Professor Slughorn joked. "Well then Bones what are you waiting for? Pay up, a bet's, a bet."

Bones looked pretty miffed at what transpired but a swift jab to the ribs from Vince reminded him that Zack's quick thinking had not only just saved Hufflepuff points but had also saved them from detention. He coughed up the Sickle to Amber begrudgingly.

"All right then class come in we have a lot to cover today."

Potions class was tedious.

Amber was forced to pair with Casey and Noah since Lizza could no longer be her potions partner, making her the odd one out. Amber found that without Lizza helping her out, her Potions were now no longer as perfect as they once were. She didn't realise how much she relied on Lizza casting the incantations for the potions and Casey as well as Noah were as equally as hopeless when it came to them.

Amber wanted to talk to Casey whilst they worked but with Noah being a third wheel it became difficult. This was compounded by the fact that Noah was doing his absolute best to keep talking to a minimum. The whole situation was rather awkward. It wasn't until after Charms class that Amber finally got to talk to her best friend.

"Finally! I thought Professor Flitwick would never let us leave, I'm starving." Amber announced as they left charms class.

"I'm not that hungry. I think I might head back to the dorm for bit." Casey replied.

"Oh, no you don't. I've talked to your sister and she gave me specific instructions to make sure you ate something every day."

"And what if I'm not actually hungry."

"Yeah right," Amber scoffed. "You skipped breakfast this morning _AND_ dinner last night. Plus, you barely took one bite out of the apple I brought you this morning."

Casey was about to make a retort until her stomach decided to commit high treason and let lose the loudest growl that Amber had ever heard.

"I rest my case." Amber said triumphantly.

"Fine, I'll go get some lunch." Casey conceded. "But only if promise not to do something stupid like you did this morning."

"Sorry…." Amber apologised after weighing up what happened in her head. "It was kind of dumb, wasn't it?"

"I appreciate you sticking up for me Amber I really do, but, you got to stop being so aggressive about it." Casey scolded. "Dammit Amber why are you so pushy all of a sudden."

"I don't know. I… I guess with Liz not here anymore I figured I had to step up and be your new body guard." Amber admitted. "You know, like how Liz protected us last term."

"I can fight my own battles Amber and I'm not always going to have you around to back me up; I need to be able to stand on my own two feet."

"Okay I get it. I'll back off."

"Thank you." Casey said relieved.

"There is one other thing though that I need to tell you before lunch." Amber sheepishly revealed.

"What have you done this time Amber?" Casey sighed.

"I… I… I didn't mean it I swear. I accidentally let slip to Juliet and Lucy that you were girl, then they all starting pressuring me and… and then I accidentally said you were Trans, then they said that'd give you till lunch. Then the thing with Bones happened… Please don't Jinx me!" In true Amber fashion, her admission came out in a rush of near incoherent words.

"Can you stop meddling for like 5 minutes Amber?" Casey placed her index figures on her temple and began messaging them.

"So…Sorry," Amber sniffled.

"I shouldn't be angry with you. And yet I am." Casey vented frustratingly. "I know logically that everyone is going to find out about my transition eventually and that'd it better to just come out and tell everyone as soon as possible. But everything just keeps getting more and more messed up."

"Hey it's not all bad." Amber sympathised. "The rumours have done their rounds already so it won't be much of a surprise once we get to the great hall."

"Here's hoping." Casey half chuckled. "Let's get this over with."

"So, um, are you still going to Jinx me?" Amber nervously laughed when they resumed their walk to the Great Hall.

"Of course." Casey grinned. "I'm just now going to do it when you least expect it."

Amber was in fact correct. Nobody was all that surprised once they reached the great hall for lunch. In fact, Amber thought it was a little anti-climactic, after all it was the speculation and uncertainty that made rumours so interesting. So, once it was revealed that Casey identified as a witch and that's how she bypassed the Castle's dormitory charm everyone kind of just went 'okay then' and either went to collect their bet or walked off, their curiosity satisfied.

A few stuck around to ask Casey what it was like switch from 'Wizard' to 'Witch' most of whom were Ravenclaw's who were far too curious for their own good. Better yet even fewer students had any sort of remote issue with Casey's change and those that did more or less used it as ammunition to poke fun at her blood status.

By the end of the day Casey's transition was old news and the rumour mill moved onto more mundane topics. It wasn't until nearly 2 months later that it started to pick up again.


	15. Chapter 15: Dragon Flu

**Chapter Fifteen: Dragon Flu**

"Did you hear Noah has got Dragon Flu along with some other Ravenclaws?" Casey revealed when she sat down next to Amber at breakfast.

"You're kidding?" Amber slightly shocked at the news. "Well at least it'll just be you and me now for potions, Noah was getting to be a bit annoying. I swear, if I hear him complain about that dam scratch one more time, I'm going to Hex him. When did you find out?"

"I found out this morning from Juliet when I left the Common Room."

"Of course you did." Amber rolled her eyes as she spoke.

Turning back to her breakfast, Amber made sure Casey got some too before the mail inevitably arrived and messed the tables up. No sooner had Casey loaded up her plate, the owls - Nocturne amongst them - swooped in from the ceiling and dropped a letter in front of Casey.

"Why does he always drop the mail in front of you? He's my owl." Amber complained whilst grabbing her letter from Casey's lap.

"Well you're not as nice to him as I am. You don't even know that he prefers Crickets for lunch over worms."

"How could you possibility know that?"

"How can you not?"

"Whatever." Amber responded before opening the letter. Judging from the hand writing it looked like it was from Lizza.

Dear Amber and CJ,

Sorry that I haven't sent a letter in the last few weeks, I started back at school at the start of February. If you wanted to know I got into Orroroo Homestead back home just like I thought I would. A Homestead is sort of like a Hogwarts house.

School's been tough, 2nd year is way harder than 1st. At least the spells are more interesting so it balances it's self out. I have to show you this cool deflection spell I learnt! It'd come in handy if you ever have to duel Melanie and Raylea again.

Believe it or not I've been dodging more bullies here in Aus than back in the U.K. Apparently the time I spent with you girls has made my accent go away, so apparently, I now sound like pompos brit. It's like no matter where I go I'm going to cop crap for my accent.

I'm sick of it already. I wish Balun and Taliyah would back me up more but their hesitant to get involved in fights. Some mates they're turning out to be.

Anyway, I hope you both are doing well at Hogwarts, if you are struggling with any school work just ask me. After all I've done it all now. I can't wait to catch up with both of you for real sometime. Miss you both heaps.

Your friend,

Liz

"Hey CJ we got a letter from Liz." Amber said passing the letter over to her friend so she could read it.

"Seems like she still having issues with bullies." Casey said sadly. "I wish I could go over there and help her."

"Well it's her fault for leaving us here by ourselves." Amber snapped.

"You don't mean that, I know you don't. Let's head to charms." Casey motioned, Amber reluctantly agreed to go with her friend.

The Castle was now starting to become familiar to Amber and Casey. The multitude of different stair cases no longer bothered them, and the suits of armour that occasionally blocked doors no longer frustrated them, now that they realised if you asked them nicely, they would move.

The girls were waiting at the base of one of the stair cases (waiting for the stairs to turn purple so they could climb up it to the 2nd floor) when Peter and Bones came around the corner tapping on the walls.

"Um, what are you two doing?" Amber and Casey asked curiously.

"Oh, hi girls. We're looking for something." Oakley replied, still tapping along the long the walls as he walked.

Amber and Casey shared a sceptical look. "What on earth are you looking for?"

Peter and Bones stopped for a moment and shared a look before Bones turned back around address his two fellow Hufflepuff's.

"Well since we're such good friends and fact that I still owe CJ one after… _that_ potions class."

Casey raised an eyebrow in response.

Bones coughed before continuing. "The boys and I after a little negotiating found out about little rumour from Juliet that theirs a secret passageway around here that leads directly outside Professor Flitwick's classroom."

"You guys payed Juliet for rumour?" Amber laughed. "Wow, you really are idiots."

"Hey I resent that." Oakley replied. "Besides not all of her rumours are false and Peter says his sister said Juliet wasn't lying, so there."

Amber and Casey shared a look before heading straight up the stairs which had just turned purple. "Are you coming? Or are you going to be late for charms?"

Tapping one last section of wall before a row of tapestries Peter gave a huff and joined the girls, who was quickly followed by Oakley who didn't want to be left alone.

"So, CJ… How's things." Oakley nonchalantly asked as they walked down the corridor towards Charms class.

"Ahhhh? Okay I guess?" Casey replied confused.

"That's nice… you look nice today by the way. What you're wearing suits you."

"It's my school uniform. It's the same thing I wear nearly every day… Are you okay Bones?" Casey asked concerned.

"I'm okay. Are you okay? I mean are you still okay after the thing?"

"What?"

"If you're trying to apologise to CJ for being an idiot you're doing a terrible job of it Bones." Amber said a little peeved.

"That was an apology?" Casey asked dumbfounded.

"Well no. But I was getting to it." Oakley trying to salvage the conversation.

"Alright then. I'm still waiting for this 'apology.'" Casey used air quotes to emphasis her point. She then stopped to turn around and face Oakley with her arms crossed.

Amber had to giggle a little at how much Casey's had grown since term had started. If this situation had of happened before Christmas it would be completely different and it would have been Oakley not Casey who would be making the other nervous. But here they were, standing in the 2nd floor corridor with CJ giving of levels of confidence that Amber had never seen before.

"Um, okay… so… It was really mean of me to call you a tranny in front of everyone before Potions and placing a bet on you thinking that you used a spell to go spy on the girl's. I didn't know you wanted to be a girl so pushing you into the girl's dorms was a little cruel. So, I guess what I'm trying say is I'm sorry for being a prat, and I hope that we can still be mates."

Amber and Casey stood there starting at Oakley in disbelief.

"That has to be the worst apology I have ever heard." Amber shook her head.

"Really Bones?" Casey said equally disappointed. "You know what I don't even care, see you around Bones."

"Wait what? I'm trying to apologise to you, what did I say wrong?" Bones said rushing after the girls to get their attention, with Peter nervously trying to keep up.

"If I have to explain it to you then what would be the point." Casey harshly replied.

"Please CJ, I'm sorry." Oakley reached forward and grabbed Casey by the wrist to try and slow her down. But all this resulted in was pissing off the girl even more.

"Don't touch me." Casey screamed as she tried to pull out of Oakley's grip to no avail. "Let me go."

"Not until you say you forgive me." Oakley defied.

"Oaks maybe that isn't such a good idea." Peter had barely finished his sentence before Casey exploded.

"You asked for it Bones. _Avifors!"_

Amber watched in amazement as Casey with skill and grace dropped her books to the floor, grab her wand with her then free hand, and then flick it towards her oppressor. Oakley had been expecting a knock-back Jinx or a Curse. What he had not been expecting however was for Casey to transfigure his Charms book into a small bird which then proceeded to peck at Oakley's head.

Amber retrieved her friend's books from the floor and pushed her towards Charms class to prevent her from doing anything else stupid. Oakley and Peter meanwhile ducked into a nearly bathroom to get away from the swooping bird.

When the girls saw the boys enter charms class a few minutes later they were quite dishevelled. Their robes had a few rips in places and somehow, they managed to get themselves drenched. Amber guessed it probably had to do with Peter being a klutz.

"Nice display of girl power back there." Amber praised. They were currently all practising the Opening Charm 'Alohomora' on some locks.

"Thanks. Bones is such an arse, I mean using _that_ word in a sentence when you're trying to apologise to someone, I mean come on. _Alohomora."_ Casey's frustrations were affecting her magic and instead of unlocking her lock it just bounced a little across the table.

"Bones and his Sasquatches may be idiots, but at least he _tried_ to apologise. You got to give at least give him a little bit of credit for that."

"I will admit, I was surprised to hear him try and apologise, but I'm not forgiving him until he does it properly." Casey proclaimed.

"I suppose that's fair," Amber reasoned. "I doubt they'll try and get back at you after that display in the corridor that was pretty amazing. I still can't believe you have mastered the Avifors spell already! We only started learning it yesterday. _'Alohomora'."_

Both girls had to duck as the lock Amber cast her spell upon disagreed with her violently and ricochet off the table, into wall behind them, before landing on the other side of the room; embedding itself in a picture frame.

"Almost Miss McKinnon." Professor Flitwick hadn't even looked up from his conversation with Vince; he was helping him with the pronunciation of the spell. Amber miss casting spells had now become a common occurrence in their charms class… well all of their classes really. So no one was particularly surprised anymore, meaning they just ignored it and kept doing focusing on their work.

"Argh. Why does this always happen to me." Amber groaned as she planted her face onto the table.

"At least you didn't break a window this time." Casey nervously replied.

Amber gave her friend an icy stare before getting up to retrieve her lock from across the room. She was trying to pull the lock out of the frame when Bones started making noises that were now getting loud enough to disrupt the class.

"Mr Bones are you alright?" Professor Flitwick asked with concern.

"He's probably just faking it Professor." Amber said venomously.

"Let the boy speak Miss McKinnon." Professor Flitwick warned. "What's wrong lad."

"I don't know I feel kind of hot and queasy." Oakley groaned in response.

Professor Flitwick conjured a thermometer and levitated it into contact with Bones temple. "Looks like you are a bit warm. Can someone please volunteer to escort Mr Bones to the Hospital wing? Ah, McKinnon you're already standing if you wouldn't mind."

Amber was just about to make a rebuttal but she quickly stopped when Oakley let loose a loud sneeze that echoed around the room. The sneeze did grab her attention but that's not entirely why she stopped. When Oakley's let loose his sneeze a foot-long gout of flame sprang forth from his nose and singed the parchment on his desk.

"On second thought Miss McKinnon, perhaps I should take Mr Bones to the Hospital wing." Amber didn't argue with the Professor.

Oakley had a pretty bad reaction to the Dragon Flu, so bad, that instead of being cared for by Madam Pomfry in the hospital wing he was sent to St Mungo's for treatment. Unfortunate as it was Oakley wasn't the only one to get the dragon flu. Peter had also gotten it and Vince and Zack not too long after.

The Dragon Flu spread through the school like wild fire. Over the next two weeks, half of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses had come down with illness about a third of Gryffindor's and Slytherin's were also affected. Madam Pomfry had to set up a temporary hospital wing in one of the larger class rooms because of how many students were getting sick.

Even the teachers weren't immune. Charms and Astronomy classes had to be covered by Professor's McGonagall and Zulander. And Care Taker duties had to be supported by Professor Hagrid, the job would have fallen to the prefects but most of them were out of action as well.

Amber was glad that her favourite teacher Professor Hackle hadn't gotten sick (even though Professor Hackle didn't actually teach her), so she was able to continue her weekly practice sessions with her.

"Argh! I'm never going to get this. It's worse than "Lumos" and I still can't even do that Charm properly." Amber groaned in frustration. Her latest escapades in magic involved her sending a lock straight through a chair after she missed cast the rather simple spell.

"You'll get it eventually." Casey consoled. Amber had dragged her friend with her to Professor's Hackles practice session as Casey was also having troubles figuring out the Unlocking charm.

"Easy for you to say, you can do it now." That fact Casey had figured out how to successfully perform the spell because she came today also contributed to Amber's souring mood.

"Hey, it's not my fault you can't cast the spell."

"No, but you distracting me is your fault." Amber accused.

"How on earth am I distracting you?" Casey shot back.

"By doing that thing where you click your heels against the table."

"I wasn't clicking my heel, that was you!"

"No, it was you!"

"Enough girls!" Professor Hackle stepping in between them, "I think that'll be enough practice for today. You both have far too much energy and if you're going to bicker the whole time I have better uses of my time."

"Sorry Professor." Both 1st years mumbled.

"What is going on girls? Normally you're the best of friends but today you have been at each other's throats."

"It's Lizza." Casey murmured after a time. "She's not doing too well."

"What's wrong with Miss Karronda?" Professor Hackle probed them. "Amber?"

Amber looked away and sat heavily in a nearby chair. Casey nervously fingered the hem of her skirt.

"Girl's I cannot help if I do not know what's going on."

Neither girl said anything. Instead Amber just produced for Professor Hackle the latest letter they had received from their friend.

Dear Amber and CJ,

I miss you two so much. Things… Things here have been getting worse. I've been getting into more and more fights that it's nearly one a day.

I could really use a good Jelly-Legs curse backing me up right about now CJ, but from what you said in your last letter that's not all you can do. I wish I could do Transfiguration like that. I'm struggling with mine.

My friends here… Although I don't think their much my friends anymore… They have pretty much abandoned me. Balun took a nasty Expulso Curse to his arm earlier this week when I was in a duel and ended up in the sickbay (he's still in there now). Ever since then Taliyah hasn't spoken to me and Balun won't look me in the eye when I go and visit him.

I'm struggling guys, I'm really struggling. I've been talking to Dad a lot lately and he says to hang in there and that fights between mates happen all the time. That part of friendship is making up.

But I don't know. My friends are pretty pissed off with me this time around.

I wonder you know. About my choice to stay here, whether it was worth it, whether life is worth it. I don't get cold anymore obviously, but the weather doesn't feel the same as I remember it.

It's strange. I feel so close to Country being back but yet I feel like I am so far away from everything. It's a weird feeling.

Anyway, this letters getting kind off long so I'm going to finish it here. Hope you're doing well with your classes and don't worry Amber you'll get 'Alohomora' down pat in no time; just remember to over pronounce the 'oh' bit.

Your friend,

Liz

"Oh my." Professor Hackle looked sadly at the two girls in the room. "Come here both of you."

Amber felt Professor Hackle pull out a chair next to her and be brought into a group hug. She didn't cry neither did Casey, both had after cried enough on the first night they got this letter. That's also when the arguments started.

"I can understand why your both feeling down at the moment, but what I don't understand is why you're both fighting." The Professor asked.

"It's mostly my fault. CJ is trying to make me feel better." Amber admitted.

"What do you believe is your fault?"

"I can't stop being mad at Liz for leaving… I hate myself for being mad at her and at the same time I feel sorry for Liz because dammit! SHE MADE THE WRONG CHOICE!" Amber screamed the last past startling Professor Hackle.

"I still don't understand why that's your fault? It's okay to have feelings Amber."

"We've been arguing because I keep telling Amber we should do something to help Liz. But Amber keeps saying 'No', that she deserves what she gets." Casey added.

"You don't believe that do you Amber?"

"No, not really." Amber said after a pause. "But I can't stop being angry at her for abandoning us like that…. Why did she have to die!?" Amber's last admission brought her to tears.

Casey and Professor Hackle comforted Amber for as long as she needed it. Amber cried for nearly an hour straight, off and on in small interludes. When she was done she was a raw mess.

"Feel better?" Professor Hackle asked, receiving a nod from Amber in response. "I can understand why that letter scared you so much Amber, but this isn't what happened with your mum, Lizza isn't dead okay… you'll get to see her again eventually."

"But she said… She said she's thinking of killing herself." Amber chocked.

"I know, Amber, I know, but you need to trust that she is going to get help for it."

"I don't know if she will." Casey whispered.

"Then maybe you need to send a letter to her parents saying you're worried about her."

"We can do that." Casey replied.

"Good, that's a start." Professor Hackle. "Casey do you think you can take Amber to the Hospital wing. I think she could desperately use one of Madam Pomfry's calming draughts."

"Sure thing, Professor." Casey said as they both helped Amber to her feet.

"Remember Amber my door is always open if you need to talk, same applies to you as well Casey."

"Thanks Professor."

Amber leaned heavily against Casey as they walked to the Hospital wing. She wondered how lucky she was to run into her back in Florish and Blotts, she lost count of how many times her friend had bailed her out of trouble.

The hospital wing was packed when they arrived. Its beds filled primarily with students who were extremely sick with the Dragon Flu. It took a while but eventually they managed to find Madam Pomfry tending to a student.

"Excuse me, Madam Pomfry do you have a minute?" Casey attempted to gain the healers attention.

"Jands what are you doing here? It's not Monday, is it?" Madam Pomfry looked at her tiredly. Confusion was written all over her face.

"No Ma'am, I'm not here for my potion. Professor Hackle sent us over here to get a Calming Draught for Amber she's…. Had a rough couple of hours."

Madam Pomfry took one look at Amber before she motioned them to come with her. "Come with me."

Madam Pomfry moved to the front of the room and rummaged through her supplies before she found what she was looking for. She opened a flask pored a portion of its contents into a glass. "Get this down you McKinnon."

Amber took the glass and drank the contents in one gulp. A sweet tasting potion trickled down her throat and after a few moments she found herself feeling mildly better. She still felt a little sad but not to the point of bursting into tears, more akin to dropping an ice cream cone on the footpath.

"Since you're here Jands. You might as well have your potion, it's a bit hectic in here and it'll only get worse come Monday."

"Do I have too?" Casey complained. Madam Pomfry responded by placing a glass on the table. "Fine."

Amber couldn't help but giggle at the face her friend pulled when she drank the sickly looking cream coloured potion.

"Drink it all Jands. I don't want you leaving some left like you did last time."

Casey closed her eyes as she tilted her head up and she drank the last of the mysterious potion. "Ergh."

"Just because you complain about it doesn't mean it going to taste any better. Now go on get out of here. I'm far too busy this week for you both to be hanging around." Madam Pomfry shooed the girls out of the room and went back to her work.

"So what was that thing Madam Pomfry made you drink?" Amber asked Casey on their walk back to the common room.

"It's called the Genus Invertus potion. It stops me developing like a boy and start looking like a girl. I have to take one every week. If it didn't help me look like a girl I wouldn't drink it."

"Does it really taste that bad?"

"I tastes like someone got a mint, wrapped it up in cardboard, and dropped it into a blender filled with toilet water." Casey complained.

Amber screwed her nose up at her friend description of the potion just as she knocked on the Common Room door.

"That description was revolting. But toilet water really?" Amber said sceptically as she found a comfy chair to sit in. "How do you know what that even tastes like?"

"Just be thankful you've never had someone stick your head in a toilet bowl and then flush it." Casey replied whilst sitting down across from her.

"Ewww gross, TMI CJ. Wait… It wasn't Bones and his itchy monkeys who did that to you?" Amber accused.

"Na, that'd be going too far for them. It happened when I was still in Primary School."

"Thank god. I don't think I would forgive them if they did-" Amber admitted before trailing off and staring at the fireplace.

"I wouldn't either. What's wrong Amber, you kind of just trailed off?"

"Huh? Oh, I just had a thought."

"A thought about…?"

"Well." Amber started before she gathered her thoughts together. "All this talk about Toilets and Bones got me thinking. Remember when he tried to apologise to you on the 2nd floor corridor?"

"Yeah, I transfigured his text book into a swallow. What about it?"

"Don't you think it was odd that Bones only got sick after coming out of the Bathroom?

"No not really."

"Come on CJ use your head. Bones got had a severe reaction to the Flu and got it 10 times faster than anyone else."

"So? That doesn't prove anything."

"CJ, Peters in the hospital wing too and they went in there together."

"I don't know that's still a pretty big coincidence." Casey not convinced.

"OOOooooo, juicy" Juliet who had after heard the last part of the conversation jumped over the back over the coach Casey was sitting on and sided up next to her. "Please do go on."

Amber and Casey both groaned loudly at Juliet when she arrived.

"This is a private conversation Juliet." Amber hissed. "Buzz off."

"If it's a private conversation why are you having it in the _Common_ Room?" Juliet had them there.

"Fine then, we'll leave." Amber said standing up. "Let's go back to our room CJ."

"No don't go." Juliet begged. "Please? If you stay I'll let you in on something I heard that you might find interesting."

"What might we find interesting." Casey asked.

"It may or may not involve something on the 2nd floor." Juliet smirked.

"Alright fine." Amber sat back down. "What's so interesting?"

"Well I heard a rumour that something's been lurking around the 2nd floor corridor."

"If that's all you got that's pretty pathetic Juliet." Amber said disappointed.

"Please Amber; what do you take me for. I've talked to a bunch of people who said they heard hissing in the 2nd floor bathrooms." Juliet revealed.

"Okay… that is kinda interesting." Amber admitted.

"Oh, but that's not all. I didn't think anything of it at first but when you mentioned Bones and Peter it got me thinking about the bathrooms."

"What about the bathrooms?" Casey asked confused.

"Well all the people I've talked too. They all have the Dragon Flu at the moment don't they."

The evidence was pretty convincing. Amber went back to staring at the Fireplace trying to decipher what could be lurking around the 2nd floor bathrooms.

"We should go now and check it out." Amber eventually said.

"Are you nuts Amber?" Casey exclaimed. "Do you want Dragon Flu or something? I don't know about you but I really don't want to spend another couple of weeks in the Hospital wing."

"As one of your House Prefects I'm obligated to advise against wandering around the Castle at night, it's nearly curfew after all." Juliet tried to speak with authority but her grin betrayed her.

"You should come with us Juliet, that way we won't get into trouble." Amber egging the older girl on.

"Alas, I am not on patrol tonight. It would look mighty suspicious if I was wondering around the Castle with a couple of 1st years."

"Party pooper" Amber sulked. "What about another night."

"I might be willing to accompany you around the castle." Juliet grinned wickedly. "For the right fee of course."

"Honestly how on earth did… you… make… prefect-" Casey sentence trailed off to silence before she stared wide eyes at the common room door.

"What's wrong CJ? Juliet?" Amber said looking confused.

Amber tried to figure out what was wrong with the two girls on the couch in front of her. Slowly Amber realised that the few people in common room had stopped what they were doing and were looking wide eyed with confusion at something behind her.

Turning around in her chair Amber found a short, darker skinned girl with freckles standing in the entrance to the common room, wearily dragging a trunk in behind her.

"Hey," Lizza tiredly smiled. "I'm back."


	16. Chapter 16: No Place Like Home

**Chapter Sixteen: No place like home**

"Some friends they turned out to be."

Lizza nursed her bleeding cut above her left eye that she had received from the duel she now sped away from. After wandering the corridors of the school for nearly 10 minutes she finally found an unused class room that she could sit in to get away from the mad house that was going on upstairs.

Grabbing a chair and pulling herself up to the window Lizza stared out into the beautiful canyon that Watarrka School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was built into the side of.

Watarrka was hidden down one end of King's Canyon in a national park named after the school (not that Muggles knew that off course). Like the other 10 great Magical schools around the world Watarrka was also hidden behind various magical spells and enchantments to prevent it being seen by Muggles who came by the area.

When the proposed Muggle resort was planned for the canyon the Australian Ministry of Magic had to intervene and 'persuade' the Muggle planners to build the resort on the other side of the national park away from the school. Lizza always found it funny how Muggles tourists marvelled at the beauty of the canyon not knowing of course that more breathtaking side was hidden from them, the Canyon was actually _much_ larger than any Muggle truly knew.

The thing that Lizza loved most about Watarrka was the stream at the bottom of the Canyon, it sadden her that she rarely got to go down there without some bully or some such catching up with her looking for a fight. But when she did, she loved playing in the bush with the Joeys and Opal Snakes.

The bleeding above Lizza's brow finally stopped allowing her to remove her makeshift bandage and she propped her chin up with both hands. The thoughts of this afternoon filled her mind. The argument, the fight, and of course the rebounding curse.

"Lizza! I thought I'd find you around here."

An elderly lady with a stern look walked into the room. Lizza immediately recognised the new occupant as the school's Headmistress, Professor Kirra Spencer.

"Sorry Aunty. I just needed to get away from everything."

"I can see that." The Professor sighed. "I am very disappointed that you didn't find a teacher, or at the very least, head to the sickbay after the incident. I thought we had an agreement Lizza."

"I know… Things just got out of hand."

"Come with me Lizza." The Professor ordered. "Your parents are on their way to my office."

"Yes, Aunty."

The walk back to the office was long, humiliating and draining. News had spread pretty far throughout the school about the fight that happened not even half an hour ago. The explosion of course made sure everyone knew about it. Lizza was thankful to finally reach the Headmistresses Office.

"Take a seat Lizza," The Headmistress offering Lizza one of the two seats in front of her desk. "Your parents should be here shortly."

"Fantastic." Lizza mumbled to herself. "At least I won't get a howler this time."

Lizza sat in silence as she awaited her impending doom. If her parents were being requested she certainly had done it this time.

"We're here Professor Spencer. Where is she?" Lizza cringed at the sound of the familiar angry voice that rang out behind her. Her mum closely followed by her dad entered through the Professor's fireplace.

"What the hell were you thinking Lizza?" Mr Karoonda boomed from behind her. On second thought, maybe the Howler would be better.

"Mr and Mrs Karoonda, I can understand you are upset with Lizza but I think we should allow her to explain herself first before we lay down any judgement." The Headmistress said.

"Fine." Her mother angrily agreed before taking the last remaining chair in the room. "Well young lady, we're waiting."

Lizza didn't say anything for a moment instead she just stared at the floor. She was trying to desperately to figure out a way of explaining everything without her getting kicked out of school.

"It all started just before lunch…"

* * *

Lizza was taking the long way around to the Canteen. Hoping that this route would allow her to avoid any bullies, particularly a pair of nasty 4th year ones by the name of Mitchel and Henry. But Lizza's luck was running in short supply today, and just when she arrived on the 3rd floor the two people she wanted to see least of all today appeared behind her from out of an empty classroom.

"We got a tip that'd you'd be taking the long way to the Canteen today." Mitchell grinned. His wand was already drawn.

"All I want to do is go to Lunch." Lizza seethed. "Why can't you two just leave me the fuck alone?"

"You made an enemy of me from day one Liz when you attacked Sarah."

"I only jinxed her after she played that stupid prank on me." Lizza remembering what happened on her first day at Watarrka. "I'm allergic to nuts you dumb ass so, yeah, no wonder I put her on her ass after she tried to dump that shit on me."

Mitchel's sister Sarah was Miss Popular at Watarrka and it was for mostly all the right reasons: She was funny, smart and loved a good joke. So when Lizza accidentally knocked her out of the 2nd story balcony after freaking out due to a large vat of peanut butter nearly being poured on her, she inadvertently made enemies with nearly everyone from her Homestead.

"It was a hazing ritual. Everyone in our homestead goes through it." Henry rebutted.

"It could have fucking killed me!" Lizza screamed. The noise was now drawing a crowd.

"Well you _actually_ nearly fucking killed my sister after you knocked her off the balcony!" Mitchel replied equally as loud.

"That was an accident! I didn't know she would trip on the step."

"Enough talking Mitch. Let's just bloody Hex her."

The crowd around them started growing in size and number. Lizza felt particularly boxed in as other students cut off her retreat down the stairs or along the corridor. The "Fight, Fight, Fight!" chant had been started up and the other students were egging Mitchel and Henry on.

Feeling cornered, desperate and with no teacher in sight Lizza reluctantly drew her wand, and faced her attackers.

"Looks like the Pom wants to duel." Henry jeered. "Would be a shame not to oblige her. _Vespernaris!"_

Without warning the duel began and Lizza was forced to dive to the side to avoid the Bat-Bogey Hex that Henry fired off. Although she dodged the 1st spell the crowd pushed her back into the duel and straight into the line of fire for the 2nd one.

 _"Locomotor Wibbly!"_ Mitchel's spell connected with Lizza and she fell in a heap to the floor as her legs turned to jelly.

" _Motor Mobilius!"_ Lizza grinned she knew the exact counter curse to the Jelly-Legs curse after watching Casey spend 2 weeks trying to learn it. Standing back up she decided to play some offence. _"Everte Statum!"_

Lizza's Jinx sailed over Mitchel's head as he ducked and hit Henry sending him backwards and putting him on his backside. Mitchel retaliated quickly. _"Alate assendarle!"_

Mitchel's spell hit Lizza and sent her into the ceiling. When she came back crashing down to earth, Henry who had recovered quickly from his knock back fired a curse at Lizza in mid-air. _"Locomotor Mortis."_

Bruised and on the floor with her legs locked up Lizza rolled onto her side pointed her wand at her attackers and foolishly she escalated. _"Incendio!"_

Fuelled by her anger the fireball that erupted from her wand was larger than anyone else expected causing both boys to dive out of the way before the fireball crashed into the roof sending a flare in all directions partially scattering the crowd.

The gloves were off and Mitchel stood up with anger in his eyes. Lizza then realised how much the boys had been holding back. _"Expulso!"_

 _"Deflecto!"_

Mitchel's spell luckily bounced off Lizza and crashed into a storeroom. A store room that unfortunately was filled with Potion supplies. The resulting explosion sent shrapnel and debris everywhere that hit not only the duellist's but people in the crowd as well.

Lizza rose from the ground and found out that the Legger-Locker curse had worn off from her legs likely due to that fact that Mitchel was currently knocked out. A couple of students were on the ground with cuts a bruises, and another was also knocked out, but that was not what scared Lizza the most.

Down the corridor Balun sat on the floor in pain holding onto his arm which had a nasty gash running along it, Taliyah was kneeling beside him trying to help.

"Balun, Cuz! Are you okay?" Lizza rushed over to her friend and cousin ignoring the small cut that was slowly bleeding from her temple.

Balun froze in place looking at his cousin with a new-found fear. "No get away, you'll just make things worse."

"You heard." Taliyah forcefully pushing Lizza away. "Bugger off."

"But…."

"No buts Liz, you've changed." Taliyah accused, shocking Lizza. "And I'm not sure I like it."

"I'm the same person I've always been, Tali, please, we've been friends for since we were 5."

"I'm not so sure… The Lizza I know wouldn't be starting fights every chance she got. The Lizza I know doesn't cast dangerous spells in crowded spaces The Lizza _I KNOW!_ Doesn't go and hurt her friends!"

"I don't go around starting fights." Lizza tried to counter.

"Really? Do you think Mitchel and Henry would have duelled you if you hadn't drawn your wand?" Lizza wasn't sure, she just looked down. "Just go Liz, go back to Hogwarts or something. I don't care; you're not the friend I grew up with anymore."

Taliyah turned her back on Lizza and helped Balun to his feet and then took him to the Sick bay. Lizza ran in the opposite direction with tears filling her eyes.

* * *

"…. Aunty found me not long after that." Lizza said once she finished her story.

All the adults in the room were shaking their heads with disappoint. Lizza took solace in the fact that at least they weren't angry anymore, just disappointed.

"How many times am I going to have to tell you Lizza? Don't escalate!" The disappointment in her Father's voice was chilling.

"But I wasn't." Lizza rebutted.

"Sweet Heart yes you were." Mrs Karoonda continued. "Drawing your wand, provoking the boys, casting Incendio!? If I had any sense I'd take that wand away from you. It's a responsibility Liz not a toy."

"I know that."

"Do you?" Mr Karoonda asked. "Because time and time again we've seen you act without thinking. I have lost track at the amount of times I have received a letter from Aunty saying you got into a fight. It's almost as if you want to get into them."

"I don't want to get into fights!" Lizza defied.

"Then what is it Lizza? What is causing you to be so angry? Why are you constantly attacking your class mates? Why are you pushing people away?"

"I'm not pushing people away… everyone else is pushing _me_ away."

"Lizza, I have had both Balun and Taliyah come into my office worried that you were isolating yourself." Lizza was totally shocked to hear Professor Spencer say this. "I have tried to help you by being lenient and understanding to your troubles, hoping that you'd let your friends in, but you're still pushing them away."

"I…" Lizza fumbled with her words before finally dropping her voice to a whisper. "I don't want to keep losing friends."

"Sweet Heart whatever made you think your losing your friends." Mrs Karoonda asked.

"When you made me go to Hogwarts last year all my friends back home basically stopped caring about me. You know I never go a single letter from any of them whilst I was at Hogwarts?" Lizza revealing her true feelings on the matter. "And then when I was at Hogwarts I made these wonderful new friends Amber and CJ and they did everything that they could to make my time there bearable,"

"But the cold…. I hate the cold; it felt like my bones were freezing from the inside. So I came back to Watarrka… but that didn't go down to well." Lizza stuttered, her voice starting to crack. "I thought everyone would be happy when I came back but they just teased me about my accent and laughed at me because I didn't understand the 'in' jokes. It was like my first day at Hogwarts all over again,"

"I hated them for it. And you know what? All of this just made me miss Amber and CJ more, because they actually did send letters to me. So I figured if I was just going to get dumped by my friends what was the point in having them in the first place."

"Lizza," Mrs Karoonda sighed. "What are we going to do with you?"

Lizza hung her head low to avoid the disappointing stares of all of the adults in the room. She desperately wanted to go to sleep right now.

"This can't keep on continuing like this Liz, it's not fair on your class mates or teachers, and it most certainly isn't fair on you. Something needs to be done about this problem, and this time, you can't fight us on it." Lizza could feel her father's eyes burning into the back of her head.

"I agree." Professor Spencer started. "The main reason I have asked you to come in today Mr and Mrs Karoonda is to discuss what we shall do about Lizza's well being and her conduct at school…"

The meeting went for nearly an hour.

Quiet as a mouse Lizza sat in the hard chair as her Parents and Professor Spencer listed every single possibility or option they could think off, not once asking Lizza how she felt about any of it. The suggestions became more and more varied as time went on. Everything from removing her from her Homestead to sending her on exchange was brought up. At one-point Lizza's mum even put up the suggestion that Lizza should be pulled out of Watarrka and be home schooled, Lizza shuddered at the thought.

 _How did she get into this mess?_

It was the thought that troubled Lizza the most. What had happened in the past year that had caused her to become this miserable? Was it her constant fighting that was costing her, or was it her parents making decisions for her that she didn't like, such as sending her to Hogwarts.

 _Hogwarts…_

Memories of her time at the school surfaced to the forefront of her mind. At least she had friends there. Amber and Casey were always nice to her and deep down that's what Lizza wanted more than anything else right now. She didn't want to feel alone.

"Take me back to Hogwarts." Lizza said for the first time in a long while.

The three adults stopped their conversation and looked at Lizza. Professor Spencer looked slightly offended, her Mum looked incredibly surprised and her dad looked rather annoyed.

"I…I'm sorry Lizza, W…what did you say?" Professor Spencer asked shocked.

"I said take me back to Hogwarts." Lizza repeated.

"Lizza." Mr Karoonda lowly growled. "We are not sending you back to Hogwarts."

"Hang on Hun, I don't see wh…" Mrs Karoonda tried to say before her Husband interrupted her.

"No Eleanor. I know you wanted her to attend the same school as you but…" Mr Karoonda replied.

"That has nothing to do with it!" Mrs Karoonda cutting her husband off in the same fashion.

"If I may." Professor Spencer raising her voice and a hand ever so slightly to silence Lizza's parents. "Perhaps it would be beneficial to ask Lizza why she wishes to return to Hogwarts."

"I… I guess. In a way this conversation made me realised that I missed my friends Amber and CJ. If I'm going to be miserable at either school I might as well be at the one where I'll at least have a couple of friends."

"Lizza I assure you that Watarrka can provide you with the same help Hogwarts can. I don't believe switching schools a second time will be of benefit to you."

"With respect Aunty, it's not that I prefer Hogwarts over Watarrka. It's just that right now I don't really have any friends here and… and I'm kind of sick of being alone."

"Sweet Heart nobody said friendship was easy." Mr Karoonda began. "You need to give Balun and Taliyah some time. They'll come around if you give them a bit of space."

"I doubt it. Tailyah was furious with me and Balun recoiled away from me in fear. Please, can't you just send me back to Hogwarts."

"Liz, you can't just keep flip-flopping between schools just because things at one school aren't working out for you. It's not right."

"But…"

"No, buts young lady, you made a choice and you'll have to live with it."

"Hang on love." Mrs Karoonda said halting her husband. "That's not exactly fair, we did force her to go to Hogwarts originally an.…"

"Eleanor. We have been through this at length we said if we brought her back here that'll be it."

"I understand that but…"

The clearing of an authoritative throat brought everyone attention back to Professor Spencer. "I know the both of you have been at odds about this particular issue for a while now that perhaps we should give Lizza one last chance on the matter?"

"Huh?" All three Karoonda's said at once.

"Lizza, you have had the fortunate privilege to study at two different Magical schools, all be it for a short amount of time. What I am suggesting is to allow Lizza to make one final choice about where she would like to spend the rest of her education."

"I pick Hogwarts." Lizza said far too fast causing both of Lizza's parents to restart their argument.

 _"Silencio!"_ Professor Spencer magically silenced everyone to regain their attention. "Sorry about. What I am suggesting is to give Lizza time, (perhaps a week) to _carefully_ think about the pros and cons of both schools and select which one she would rather attend, with the proviso that regardless of what decision she makes or how she feels about the situation later, she cannot change her mind."

Lizza opened her mouth to immediately make her choice known but a stern glare from Professor Spencer stopped her.

"I don't like it." Mr Karoonda finally said after the silence.

"Noel." Professor Spencer cautioned as she spoke to her former student. "I understand your feelings on the matter and that you believe choices matter, but think about this from your daughter's perspective. She was basically forced to go to Hogwarts, and then the climate at Hogwarts forced her to come back here. I know Lizza has ways of combating the cold now - I have taught her those spells myself - So what I am saying now is to allow her to make an informed choice, a _real_ one, using her experience and let her deal with the consequences of her actions."

"Alright." The lecture apparently changing his mind. "Last chance Lizza. 1 week to make your choice, after that whatever school you pick that's where you're going, end of discussion. You understand?"

"Yes Dad."

"Come on Eleanor, we've still got food on the barbie." Mr Karoonda didn't even look at his daughter before grabbed a fist full of Floo and disappeared in a burst of green flames.

"Choose wisely Liz." Mrs Karoonda said giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead. "Love you always." And in another burst of green flames Lizza was left with Professor Spencer.

"Do you think I'll make the right choice?" Lizza asked to her Headmistress.

"Only you can know that Lizza." The Professor counselled.

"But what if I don't know."

"That's what makes this a tough decision. You won't know until well after you have made it."

"I've really done it this time, haven't I?" Lizza moaned.

"Lizza I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed with your conduct today." Lizza cringed because she knew what was coming. "Needless to say, you'll be in detention for the foreseeable future. I think I'll have you serve detention alongside me this time however so I can keep an eye on you."

"Yes Aunty." Lizza mumbled.

"Same agreement as before Lizza. No fighting and no antagonising other students. If another student attacks you, find a teacher or head straight to the sick bay."

"What about the 50 points?" Lizza asked confused.

"Count yourself lucky Lizza. The only reason why I am not taking points off you is because it would just antagonise Orroroo Homestead even more. Plus, I think using Homestead points as a means of punishment for you at the moment, is rather moot wouldn't you say?"

"I guess so." Lizza agreed.

"I'll be sending a letter to my counterpart in Professor McGonagall informing her of what has happened here today, so mark my words Lizza. If you muck around here at Watarrka do not be surprised that if you elect to return to Hogwarts Professor McGonagall takes points away from Hufflepuff."

"You know about Hufflepuff?" Lizza asked shocked.

"Our schools are not all that dissimilar; Watarrka after all was Co-founded by British Wizards. I also have personally seen the inside of Hogwarts castle myself during an exchange visit."

"I didn't know you had been to Hogwarts."

"As Headmistress, it pays well for me to pay attention to what is happening around at the other schools. Hogwarts is a magnificent school Lizza, but please do not overlook Watarrka. I would hate to see one of my best students leave."

"I'm not all that good."

"You are brighter than you realise." The Professor praised causing Lizza to turn away. "Now I think It's time for you to go back to class, you've already missed one today because of your foolishness do not miss another."

"I'm going." Lizza responded. Jumping to her feet and proceeding to leave the room.

"I will see you back here at 6pm for detention." Lizza groaned upon hearing the summons. "And Lizza do think carefully about your decision."

"I will Aunty, see you later."

The rest of the week was hell for Lizza. Detention was the easy part, classes and everything else was much harder.

Every single person in her Homestead was giving her the silent treatment and a great deal of the rest of the school did as well. They likely would have harassed Lizza more but the day after Lizza's meeting with her Parents, Professor Spencer addressed the school at breakfast and informed them that anyone caught fighting with another student would lose their homestead 50 points and endure a two-week long detention.

So, day by day Lizza had to deal with students turning their backs on her; even partnerships in classes became difficult. Teachers had to force her classmates to pair up with her as nobody wanted to work with her.

Lizza lost count at the amount of times she ended up in a bathroom crying all alone; the hurt just kept getting deeper and deeper. It only took one last act of hostility for her to finally break.  
Exiting the bathroom on the 4th floor, - Lizza not paying attention to where she was going - bumped into another student that was walking past, sending them both to the ground.

"Sorry," Lizza mumbled. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

Looking up at the girl she bumped into Lizza was shocked to see the face of her old friend. Once Taliyah realised who had bumped into her, she scoffed and started to walk away.

"Please Taliyah," Lizza begged. "Wait up."

Lizza's plea feel on deaf ears and Taliyah forged ahead trying her best to ignore the person following her. "Taliyah, come on we're basically family. I miss hanging out with you guys, the past few weeks have been agony."

Taliyah froze in place and slowly turned around.

"Thank you Tali, I-"

Lizza didn't get to finish her sentence as Taliyah's hand came out of nowhere and slapped Lizza across the face, leaving a red mark in its wake. The look in Taliyah's eyes crushed Lizza more than the slap ever would, and she could hear her old friend angrily crying as she briskly walked away.

"Screw it." Lizza said to herself. "I'm gona go back to Hogwarts."

The time in which it took for things to be set in motion after Lizza told Professor Spencer of her decision, was surprisingly fast. Professor Spencer was visibly disappointed in Lizza choice but understood the young girls reasoning. Before the end of last period, Lizza had her Trunk packed, and with a parting farewell from Watarrka's headmistress, she left.

"You will always be welcome at Watarrka Lizza, good luck at Hogwarts." The Professor fondly remarked just before Lizza dropped the Floo to her feet.

Waiting for her Mum to finish charming the Portkey was extremely stressful for Lizza. She was back on speaking terms with her Mum but her Dad had now gone to be silent with her, she was trading one evil for another. By midnight Australian time Lizza was transported to London, landing semi awkwardly in her Grandmother's backyard. Lizza realised that she was getting used to travelling by Portkey, she had managed to land on her knees this time around.

Her Mum and Grandma told her not to sleep yet so her body clock could reset to London time, forcing Lizza try and stay awake. She ended up falling asleep for a few minutes anyway only to woken up by her very annoyed mother when it was time to go.

"You ready Liz?" Mrs Karoonda asked her daughter.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Lizza wearily replied.

"I'm so happy you decided to give Hogwarts another chance Liz," Mrs Karoonda gave her daughter a hug as she spoke. "You'll come love Hogwarts the same way I did. You just need to give it a bit of time."

"I'll try." Lizza mumbled into her mums embrace.

"That's all I can ask Liz," Mrs Karoonda said pulling away. "You are sure you want to go back? Because once you step through that fire place that's it, you're there for the next 6 years."

"I know mum." Lizza gulped. "I can't promise that I won't change my mind again latter, but right now I need to be around my friends."

"Okay Sweet Heart, as long as you know."

Mrs Karoonda offered her daughter the bowl of Floo powder and Lizza grabbed a handful, dragging her trunk with her to the fireplace.

"I love you Liz."

"I love you too mum," Lizza said with a sad smile. Taking a deep breath, she dropped the Floo to her feet. "Hogwarts! McGonagall's Office!"

With and cough and a sputter, Lizza exited the fireplace into Office of the Headmistress of Hogwarts. Lizza mused that she was becoming far too familiar with Headmistresses offices. This was the third time she had stepped into this particular office and she lost count of how many times she had been to Professor Spencer's office.

"You're late Miss Karoonda."

"Sorry Professor," Lizza dusted herself off as she spoke. "My grandma wanted to go out for dinner since she rarely gets to see me."

"That's alright Karoonda" Professor McGonagall sighed. "Please let me know next time."

"Sorry."

"As I said I understand. I assume Professor Spencer has gone through the arrangements for you returning to Hogwarts?"

"Yes, Professor. I know I'll be continuing my detention here." Lizza regrettably answered.

"Changing school's does not excuse you from prior punishments." Professor McGonagall sternly reminded her. "Are you comfortable with the other arrangements made to your classes?"

"I'm fine with going back into 1st year. I kind of rushed through the extra work over the holidays, well, during the Australian holidays. Anyway, it'd probably be a good idea to go back over it again; I was really struggling during 2nd year."

"Be that as it may, it'd be amiss for me not to warn you that if you are caught giving you fellow pupils the answers to the 1st year exams you will be expelled. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Professor."

"That will be all Miss Karoonda, you may return to the Hufflepuff Common Room. I trust you still remember the way?"

"Yes, I still remember." Lizza grunted as she grabbed her trunk.

"If it would help, I can ask one of the House Elves to take your belongings down to your dormitory for you. I have already made sure they have prepared a bed for you."

"I'll manage Professor." Lizza pulled out her wand and pointed it at her trunk. _"Perfusorius."_

"I do not believe Professor Flitwick has taught that spell yet." Professor McGonagall mentioned.

"Um… no... I picked it up at Watarrka." Lizza sheepishly confirmed.

"Use your extra knowledge wisely." The Professor's comment was more of a warning than praise.

"I will Professor," Lizza replied as she effortlessly dragged her trunk behind her. "And thank you for letting me return to Hogwarts."

"You are welcome. Now off with you."

Lizza made a hasty exit out of Professor McGonagall's office. It was a bit past 9pm so most off the school would now be making their way back to their Common Rooms. Tired, Lizza dragged her trunk behind her and made her way down towards the kitchens before stopping in front of a familiar set of vinegar barrels.

Tapping a tune that she never thought she would hear again, Lizza smiled to herself when the door to the Hufflepuff Common Room swung open. Almost as soon as she entered the room nearly every single conversation stopped. Familiar faces all turned to regard the new occupant with shock recognition.

The two people Lizza wanted to see more desperately than any other turned and looked at her in the eyes. Their look of recognition brought a smile to her tired face.

"Hey," Lizza said to Amber and Casey. "I'm back."


	17. Chapter 17: Desperate Dealings

**Chapter Seventeen: Desperate Dealings**

Saturday morning came too soon for Lizza. The feel of the strange but familiar bed stirred up forgotten feelings until she realised that she was once again back at Hogwarts and the memories from last night came flooding back to her.

When Lizza arrived late Friday night standing in the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room everyone was shocked to see her there. The first person to say anything was Amber, and it wasn't the welcome Lizza had been hoping for, quite the opposite in fact.

Once Amber realised who the new arrival was, she ran up to Lizza, hurling a cushion at her as she went. She then proceeded to start pushing her whilst throwing in a few kicks for good measure. Amber screamed things at her friend such as: "Idiot! Why did you leave without telling us?" and "Do you know how worried we were?"

The screaming and abuse Amber was hurling at Lizza cut deeper than anyone could have anticipated. After the ordeal of having her old friends back home turn on her; caused Lizza to have devastating flashbacks that nearly brought her to tears. Lizza immediately regretted coming back to Hogwarts at this very moment and turned to leave the common room only for Amber to grab her in a powerful embrace.

"Don't you _dare_ leave, not again." Amber coughed out through her sobs.

They both calmed down once Casey came over and reasoned they were both just emotional because they hadn't seen each other in months. Lizza and Amber agreed before they were both dragged off to their dormitory by Casey.

Lizza expected to have a deep - not to mention long - conversation with Amber and Casey but as soon as she sat down on her old bed she was out like a light; she had after all been up for 26 hours straight. So once morning came around Lizza was understandably grumpy, when two voices started to rouse her from her sleep.

"I told you she was impossible to wake up." Amber smugly told Casey.

"I didn't say I didn't believe you. I said it couldn't be that bad." Casey said.

"I swear if you two shit heads keep talking I'm going set your hair on fire." Lizza threatened the pair from underneath the covers.

"You're right she is snippy in the mornings."

"See!" Amber exclaimed, Lizza's annoyance was rising rapidly. "Come on Liz get up! We got stuff to do."

"I am this close to grabbing my wand Amber." Lizza stuck her hand out from under the covers to indicate how close she was.

"Is it just me or does everyone in this dorm threaten you with witchcraft in the morning?" Casey joked.

"Oh hush you." Amber said slapping her friend on the arm. "Come on Liz get up, I got _Baaaaccccoooonnn_!"

Lizza thoroughly feed up with her friends antics reached out to her bedside table and patted around looking for her wand. Having not felt it, Lizza lifted up the sheets slightly to look at her bed side table only to find her wand was missing.

"Looking for this?"

Lizza raised the covers slightly more to spy Casey and Amber standing beside her bed. Amber was waving Lizza's wand in the air between her index finger and thumb, and Casey was suppressing giggles.

"Fine I'm up." Lizza grumbled as she tossed the blankets back. "Now give me back my wand and that bacon."

Casey doubled over, her giggles finally turning into fresh pearls of laughter. Once Lizza was sitting upright Amber handed back her wand and a strip of bacon wrapped up in a napkin.

"What's with her?" Lizza said pointing Casey.

"Nothing." Amber said whilst giving Casey a swift kick to get her to stop cackling. "So… You're back huh?"

"Ye…yeah." Lizza softly replied.

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming? We could have thrown a welcome back party or something." Casey asked from her position on the floor.

"Sorry, it kind of just happened."

"What do you mean 'just happened'?"

"Well… Yesterday morning I woke up in Australia and the by the end of the day I'm back at Hogwarts. It all happened so fast. Even if I had of sent a letter chances were I would have arrived before it did."

"No wonder you look exhausted." Amber said.

"No thanks to you! Why the hell are you waking me up this early!?" Lizza shouted.

"Liz, it's like 11 o'clock. You have been asleep for nearly 14 hours." Casey teased.

"I… Really?" Casey showed Lizza her watch, revealing that the time was precisely 11:24am Saturday morning. "Sorry for sleeping in then."

"No biggy. We thought you'd want to sleep in since it's the weekend and all."

"Thanks. I really mean it. I've needed some friends these past few weeks." Lizza mumbled incoherently as she nibbled to last of her Bacon.

"Is that why you left Watarrka? Because of your friends there?" Amber softly asked sitting on the corner of the bed and placing her hand on Lizza leg for moral support.

"Yeah… I got into a fight on my first day and everything went downhill after that. Eventually even my cousin and Taliyah wanted nothing to do with me, Taliyah even slapped me. That... That's when I knew Watarrka wasn't going to work out."

"I am so sorry Liz."

"It's not your fault. The letters that you two have been sending me have kept me going, so I guess in a way you both encouraged me to come back. So… thanks."

Lizza leaned forward to give Amber a thank you hug only for her friend to stick her hand out and stop her from getting closer.

"I love a hug as much as the next person Liz," Amber smirked. "But right now you reek. When was the last time you had a shower?"

"Yesterday." Lizza sheepishly mumbled.

"Go have a shower then, we'll talk more when you get out." Amber got up and threw a towel at Lizza to emphasize her point. Lizza rolled her eyes and entered the bathroom.

It was practically lunch time once Lizza strutted out of the bathroom, her long black hair dripping wet behind her. Amber and Casey immediately regretted ambushing Lizza as she left the bathroom trying to give her a hug. The later got a face full of wet hair and the former slipped on the wet floor; falling onto her backside, much to the amusement of Lizza.

"Want to go get food?" Amber asked as dusted/dried herself off.

"I could eat." Lizza replied.

Before anyone could say anything else Casey's stomach growled.

"I guess that settles that then." Amber laughed.

The girls quietly left their dormitory and made for the Great Hall. The Common Room was deserted so nobody bothered them on their walk out.

"So what's been happening around here? You know, aside from the obvious," Lizza gesturing to Casey. "You look much better dressed like that CJ."

"Thanks." Casey said furiously blushing.

"Has everyone been okay with it?"

"More or less. The first few days were pretty intense but once everyone got it out of there systems it became old news pretty fast." Casey recounted past events. "Melanie and Raylea still give me crap about it occasionally but honestly they just use it as a segway to launch into something about me being Muggle born."

"Has anyone done anything like what those two bimbo's did before Christmas?"

"Hardly." Amber responded. "After she took Oakley and Peter down a peg or two, no one wants to even think about duelling her."

"I'm not even that good of a duellist." Casey huffed.

" _Pa… Lease, CJ_. You transfigured Oakley's book in to a swallow and had it start pecking him."

"Big deal any 3rd or 4th year could do that." Casey rebutted.

"What about that time you Transfigured Melanie's scarf into a snake."

"She kept saying how lame it was that Hufflepuff's Mascot is a Badger so I…"

"…And then what about the time you…" Amber cutting off her friend once again.

"OKAY I GET! I'm good at Transfiguration."

Lizza laughed at her two friends arguing. "You both argue like sisters."

"WE DO NOT!" The pair said in unison, before turning away from each other thoroughly embarrassed.

"So aside from CJ's whole… girl thing… and now being freakishly good at Transfiguration. Anything else new?" Lizza asked getting them back on topic.

"Well there was one other thing." Amber considered, "We were actually talking about it last night before you showed up."

"Where is everyone?" Lizza said confused as they walked into the Great Hall, less than half of the house tables were filled up. "Lunch still starts at 1 yeah?"

"That's what I was trying to say Liz," Amber said slightly exasperated. "There's been a Dragon Flu going around. Half the school's sick."

"Wow! I sure picked a shit 'ouse time to come back."

The three girls were just sitting down at the Hufflepuff table and no sooner had their bums touched the seat Juliet came sliding down the table pulling up in front of them.

"Argh." All three girls hopelessly groaned.

"Really Juliet!? Lizza hasn't even back for a day and you're already interrogating her?" Casey harshly accused.

"Hey I just slid up to you guys; I haven't even said anything yet." Juliet defended.

"Come on Juliet what do you take us for?" Amber replied.

"A couple of my favourite first years that love to get up to mischief and gossip."

"We don't get up to mischief, nor do we gossip." Casey rebutted, clearly offended.

"Oh really? So you Transfiguring McAlister's glass of Pumpkin juice into a very, _very,_ angry woodpecker last week after he accidentally called you a Mudblood, didn't happen?"

"You did that!?" Lizza marvelled.

"Maybe." Casey said flopping her head down onto the table. Amber was about to offer a retort for her friend but Juliet looked at her and raised one of her eyebrows. Amber promptly closed her mouth.

"I see you haven't changed." Lizza finally addressing Juliet. "And before you ask I'm not going to tell you why I've come back."

"I wasn't going to ask." Juliet said. "I actually came over here to introduce you to a couple of people."

"And who might they be." Lizza asked.

Juliet turned and looked down the table and waved over a couple of her fellow 5th years. Nickolas Sharp and Liam Abbot rose from their seats and walked over and sat next to Juliet with Nickolas in the middle.

"Okay so the tall dashing one next to me is Nickolas Sharp, Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and that dung heap over there is Liam Abbot, his 2nd in command. Boys this is Amber McKinnon, Casey Jands, and Lizza Karoonda."

"Your foul words cannot harm me my beautiful Juliet." Liam said mockingly.

"Can it Romeo." Nickolas said giving his friend an elbow to the ribs. "Hi, pleasure to meet you three." Nickolas gave each of the 1st year girls a hand shake.

"Now that we know who you are – Not that we didn't before – what do you guys want." Lizza asked folding her arms across her chest.

"We want to ask for a favour." Nickolas plainly asked.

"What kind of favour?" Lizza asked sceptically.

"Well I'm not sure if you are aware but most of the school is sick with the Dragon Flu at the moment."

"She knows." Casey pipped up. "We were talking about it before Juliet _rudely_ interrupted us."

"Anyway, before Christmas we heard a little rumour." Everyone at the table immediately turned their heads to Juliet.

"Hey they didn't hear this one from me." Juliet raised her hands in defence. "I just went out and confirmed it for them."

"So what was this _rumour?"_ Amber venomously asked.

"We heard Karoonda is a fairly good flyer." Liam revealed.

"Everyone knows Liz is a good flyer."

"Yeah but," Nickolas added with an evil grin. "Did you also hear that her Mum is also Lucy Karoonda? The star Seeker for the Wollongong Warriors and Captain of the Australian National team whom she lead to two consecutive world cup tournaments."

The red flush on Lizza's face gave her away.

"Your Mum's a Professional Quidditch Player!?" Amber and Casey gasped attracting the temporary attention of a few nearby students.

"Shhhh…" Lizza hushed them. "My Mum's not a professional Quidditch player. She's just an enthusiast."

"I don't understand?" Juliet said confused. She then pulled out Lucy Karoonda's Chocolate frog card. "You have the same last name… You even look similar, save the hair."

"Lucy Karoonda isn't my mum!" Lizza defiantly responded, before dropping to a whisper. "She's my Aunt."

"She's your Aunt?" Liam was bewildered. "I thought you fact checked this stuff Juliet?"

"I did you twat." Juliet snapped giving the boy a slap across the back of the head. "Look at them."

Juliet held up the Chocolate frog card of Lucy Karoonda next to Lizza's face to compare. Everyone agreed they looked similar. Lizza however didn't appreciate being compared to a card like that and swatted it away.

"I suppose now you're going to tell everyone who my Aunty is?" Lizza snapped.

"We." Liam gesturing to the two people sitting next to him. "Won't tell anyone so long as you help us out and do us this favour."

"And what is this favour you want me to do?"

"We want you to fill in as Seeker for Hufflepuff next Saturday."

"What!?" Amber, Casey, and Lizza all shouted at once.

"Keep it down." Liam said. "We don't want the whole school to know."

"But… What? Huh…?" Lizza incoherently babbled.

"Karoonda look around." Nickolas said gesturing to the room. "Over half the school is sick. I'm down 4 members of our starting line-up, _including_ Lufkin."

"Lufkin can't play?" Lizza sounding a bit depressed. "But what about the reserves?"

"I'm out of Reserves. All the reserves I can put on the pitch I have, everyone else is sick. I've even had to ask Juliet to fill in as Keeper." Nickolas was getting more and worked up as he talked.

"You're playing?" Lizza asked Juliet earning a nod.

"I'm as slow as toad running backwards though, that's why I'm playing Keeper." Juliet admitted. "I'm nowhere near as good as Lufkin; I'd feel better with him playing."

"We'd all feel better with Lufkin playing." Liam sadly agreed.

"I don't know…" Lizza mulled over the decision. "I've never even played a real game of Quidditch before."

"Karoonda please I'm begging you here. If there was someone else I could ask I would but everyone else is garbage, I need some that can _fly_ a broom not just _ride_ one."

"A bit harsh." Juliet said as though she was offended.

"I'm not lying and you know it." Nickolas snapped at Juliet before turning his attention back to Lizza. "So will you play or not?"

Lizza closed her eyes and thought it over. She really wanted to play, but the fear of messing up and making a fool of herself in front of the entire school kept pulling at her. She was already hated at one Magical school she couldn't bear making that two.

A comforting hand squeeze from Amber and encouraging smile from Casey brought her back to earth. If her Aunt and Dad, (maybe even her Mum) heard she had passed up an opportunity to play in a real life Quidditch match she would never hear the end of it.

"Okay… I'll do it." Lizza sighed.

The cheers from the other 5 members of the discussion erupted around her and Liam and Nickolas looked like they were about to jump over the table and hug her death they were so happy.

"On one condition." Lizza abruptly ending their jubilation. "You get someone else to play Seeker. I'll play any other position just not Seeker."

"But you're super-fast Liz. In flying class you made that old school broom look like a Firebolt. Why don't you want to play seeker." Casey said astonished.

"Because I hate playing Seeker! It's so boring all you do is fly around in circles and wait."

"But your aunts a professional Seeker, you'd be a natural." Nickolas said.

"Exactly, my aunt's a Seeker. She's always wanted to me to follow in her footsteps and I hate it. It was only until after I tore the wings off one of her Snitches she let me muck around with other positions."

"I don't know Liz… we really need a Seeker more than anything else." Nickolas said unsure.

"Nick be reasonable." Liam urged. "We _need_ her to play. We can easily shuffle Kaylean over to Seeker and have Karoonda fill in as a Chaser, it'd probably be better to have someone with more experience playing Seeker anyhow."

"Alright fine." Nickolas said finally caving. "How does Chaser sound?"

"I can do Chaser." Lizza grinned.

"Good, we'll have to tell Kaylean about the change." Nickolas said to nobody in particular. "Man, she's going to be pissed."

"I'll tell her," Juliet offered, "She'll go easier on me."

"Right you do that… Karoonda practice is Sunday Morning, as well as Tuesday and Friday Afternoon's."

"I, Um… Kind of got this carry over detention from when I was at Watarrka. It's every afternoon during the week with Professor Sprout."

Nickolas and Liam sighed.

"We'll talk to Professor Sprout." Liam said for Nickolas.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Nick said rubbing his temples.

"I don't have a Broom. First years aren't allowed brooms - even though I technically have been in 2nd year for a few months – so I didn't bring my Nimbus with me to Hogwarts."

"Is that all?" Liam laughed as he stood up and practically dragged Nickolas to his feet who muttering about some Quidditch plays.

"Please, don't stick me on one of those school brooms." Lizza pleaded.

"We'll sort something out. Just leave it to us little grass hopper." Liam said in a terrible Japanese accent, before walking away. "Oh and Karoonda."

"Yeah?"

"Don't get sick."

Lizza barely got out an 'I won't' before Amber and Casey tackled her and wrapped her up in a congratulatory hug.

Lizza was an absolute bundle of nerves during the week leading up to the match. Her school work would have suffered if she hadn't already completed a rough version of 1st year at Watarrka. It was something that annoyed her teachers greatly as she was able to still score decently in her work without needing to pay attention.

Nick and Liam tried desperately to get Lizza some extra time on the pitch, but Professor Sprout said they had to work with what they got since she had bent the rules enough for the both of them. She kept mumbling something about. "I only convinced Professor McGonagall to let Karoonda play because of the exceptions she made for Potter."

The practice sessions they did have were all over the place. Everyone was a great flier but the plays they tried to run through kept ending up in disaster. Kaylean kept forgetting she was the Seeker and tried to grab the Quaffle, Robbie Matthews (a burly 6th year from the reserves) didn't understand the plays at all and poor Lizza was so nervous she kept fumbling passes. Lizza blamed her performance on the shoddy school broom she was flying, using it as an excuse to remind Liam of promise to find her a better broom.

At the end of Friday's practice session everyone on the team was visibly nervous. Frank Truman and Zander Stump had also watched the practice session; the other Hufflepuff's in the stands could tell they felt helpless not being able to fill their usual roles of Chaser and Seeker respectively.

The two 2nd years were well enough to walk down to the pitch and watch the practice session but the fact they were still sneezing smoke meant they weren't well enough to play just yet. Madam Pomfry was furious when she found out they had snuck out of the infirmary and took 5 points off each of them for leaving the Castle.

Saturday morning couldn't come soon enough, and after Lizza said farewell to Amber and Casey so as to allow them to find a good spot in the stands. Lizza nervously entered into the Hufflepuff change rooms to get ready for the upcoming match.

"Nervous?" Kaylean asked. The girls had just finishing getting changed and were entering the small planning room with the boys.

"Loads." Lizza replied.

"Don't worry too much." Kaylean tried to comfort Lizza. "Most of the Gryffindor's are out sick as well, they had to move Newton from Chaser to Seeker just like Nick had to do with me. The only one you need to look out for is Stephanie Lynn; she's their Captain and a dam good Chaser to boot."

"We'll keep Lynn under wraps." Nick commented.

"A good Bludger to the face should do the trick." Liam hi-fived Nickolas as they laughed.

"You both need to stop thinking with your bats." Kaylean smirked. The joke had done nothing to calm Lizza's nerves. In fact being reminded that there were two Bludgers on the pitch just made her feel worse.

"Hey guys," A familiar voice said from behind them.

Everyone in the room turned around to see that Zander Stump and Frank Truman had sneakily entered the planning area by lifting up the flap towards the back of the tent.

"What the hell are you two thinking?" Kaylean was really annoyed. "Are you trying to get the whole team sick or something? Madam Pomfry is going to be pissed that you're here."

"Easy Summers," Nickolas warned. "I asked them to come."

"What the hell are you thinking Nick." Kaylean wheeled her attention to Nickoals and was now poking him hard in the chest.

"Kaylean, hold on a sec." Liam said stepping in between them. "They're just here to drop something off then they'll leave."

"Oh yeah and what's so important that he has to drop it off personally." Kaylean demanded.

"My Broom." Zander then produced his Nimbus 3030 to his dumbstruck team. "Take care of it Karoonda it's my most prized possession."

Lizza was understandably shell shocked when Zander placed his Nimbus 3030 in her shaky hands. Lizza couldn't form words and neither could her team, save for Liam and Nick who just grinned knowingly. She didn't even get to say thank you to Zander and Frank before they exited the room the same way they came in.

"I… I can't, fly on this Broom." Lizza said dumbstruck. "Kaylean would be better off flying it. She's the Seeker; they're the ones that need the speed."

"You'll fly it and you'll like it." Liam said looking at her with an amused expression. "You've been going on all week about how you can't play without a good broom well here you go, that's one of the best brooms in the world, so now you have no excuses if you play bad."

"Kaylean surely?"

"I got my own Nimbus." Kaylean smirked leaning on her own Nimbus 2000. She was clearly finding this amusing. "I watched you at practice; you'll fly it just as well as any of us can. Besides you're the rookie, so the Gryffindor Beaters are going to be gunning for you more than any of us."

"That doesn't make me feel any better." Lizza nervously responded.

"Think of it this way Liz." Nick said leaning on Lizza's shoulder. "With you on that broom Liam and I won't need to cover you from Bludgers."

Lizza's face turned pale at her Captains comment. The butterflies in her stomach were getting worse and worse with each passing second and she felt like she was about to throw up.

"Be nice!" Juliet shouted. "She's only a first year can't you see that she's nervous. Telling her Bludgers are going to be flying around aimed for her isn't helping."

A 'Sorry Liz,' Rang out from Liam's, Nick's and Kaylean's mouths.

"You'll be fine Liz," Juliet knelt down in front of her. "We wouldn't have put you on the team if we didn't think you could handle it. Take a deep breath and calm down."

Lizza did as instructed and closed her eyes. Breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, letting as much of her nerves pass as she could. The sound of Madam Hooch's whistle alerted them that they needed to head out to the pitch.

"Alright Crew!" Nick said trying to fire them up. "We know the game plan, Gryffindor is in as bada shape as we are so let's get out there and show them that we are stronger. Hands in and Hufflepuff on Three. One… Two…"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The team shouted. Then they mounted their brooms and flew out onto the pitch.

 **"** **GOOD MORNING QUIDDTICH FANS! I'm Hayden Brown and lucky I haven't got the Dragon Flu otherwise you'd be listening to my little sister try and call the action."**

Hayden's joke made Lizza laugh. She circled the pitch getting a feel for the amazing broom Zander Stump had graciously offered her for today's match. As she weaved in between the stands she spotted Amber and Casey clapping madly as she flew past. It wasn't hard to spot them since the stands were only half full. The upper boxes were still filled to capacity though, as not many of the teachers were sick and most of the boxes were filled with friends and special guest of the school who were invited to come watch the regular matches.

 **"** **The Dragon Flu has played havoc with both teams today as both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are looking at over half their roaster being out sick. I'm not sure if this will affect the quality of play today or if it'll hurt either teams chances for the Quidditch cup but I guess we'll find out. As it stands Slytherin are in the lead, sitting on 450 points after their win over Ravenclaw last month whilst Ravenclaw are sitting on a respectable 310 points; that said they both have played an extra game."**

Lizza breathed to herself. This was an important match to be sure; Hufflepuff needed a win to even have a chance at the Quidditch cup. Every point they scored matter and every point they stopped mattered.

 **"** **Boxer and Poewitt are Gryffindor's replacement Chasers with Fowler and Shepard heading up the Beater Brigade, also Newton has been shuffled over to Seeker. For Hufflepuff we got Nightshade on Keeper – she's got big shoes to fill with Lufkin out. Summers like the Gryffindor Seeker has been shuffled over from Chaser. Finally Matthews, Peterson and Karoonda are replacing the entire Hufflepuff Chaser line up, it's going to be a tough trot for Hufflepuff as they have had to put a 1** **st** **year in. Time will tell if she's up to the task."**

The mention of her name made Lizza jitter. Her team after all was placing a lot of faith in her by putting her in the team and she was determined to prove to them that their faith was well deserved. Hearing Madam Hooch's whistle Lizza flew to starting ring to await the start of the game.

"Nice and clean! I don't want to see any intentional fouling." Madam Hooch stared at each player individually with the Quaffle in her left hand. With a short ring of her whistle Madam Hooch threw the Quaffle into the air and began the game.

 **"** **Here! We! GO! Quaffle's up – It's grabbed by the tiny Karoonda – She spins straight through the pack, her size is certainly paying dividends for her so far – She zooms down the pitch heading for the goal – She passes to Lucy Peterson. – No! It's too far bloody far Karoonda!**

 **"** **Hayden…"**

 **"** ** _Sorry_** **– Peterson fumbles the catch and Gryffindor is now in possession – Boxer passes to Lynn – Matthews tries to intercept but Lynn gets rid of it – Poewitt with the Quaffle -she passes it back to Lynn before she gets tagged by a Buldger – Lynn shoots, AND SHE SCORES! Gryffindor in the lead 10 – 0.**

Lizza kicked herself. She let her nerves get the best of her. Why on earth did she pass the Lucy from that distance? She knew Lucy was a horrible catch, even Lucy herself told Lizza to only pass to her if she was within a couple of meters. Better yet why did she pass at all? She could have made that shot.

"Nice try Karoonda," Nickolas yelled to her as he passed by. "Just make sure your nice a close to Lu if you're going to pass to her."

"I know. I know. I forgot." Lizza yelled back disappointed in herself.

"Head in the game!" Nickolas knocked his head with his bat making Lizza groan. He then turned to shout to his team. "Hawkshead!"

 **"** **Hufflepuff with the Quaffle again – They're taking it nice and slow, and the Gryff's want none of it – The Gryffindor line charges in – A Bludger by Liam Abbot makes them scatter – Peterson takes the opening flanked by Karoonda and Matthews – The Gryffindor chasers get physical – Ouch! Karoonda is nearly knocked off her broom by a bump from Boxer! –Come on Boxer the bump was fair but she's only a first year – Lynn's snatches the Quaffle - she's at the posts –AND PUTS IT AWAY! – Gryffindor leads 20 – 0."**

"You alright Liz!?" Liam shouted at her.

"Yeah, just a little winded." Lizza breathed trying to catch her breath.

"Nick!" Liam yelled getting their captains attention. "She's too small. We can't run blocking plays with her."

"Fine. We'll try something else." Nickolas took a second to think of something new. "Karoonda go wide."

 **"** **Juliet Nightshade collects the Quaffle and passes it to Matthews – The Hufflepuffs are going wide – Liam intercepts a bludger and redirects it at Lynn – Lynn dodges – Matthews palms the Quaffle off to Peterson – Boxer comes in to block – but is blocked himself by Hufflepuff Captain - there's still one Gryffindor chaser left – Poewitt comes in for the steal – And it's a** ** _LONG BOOM_** **by Peterson…"**

Lizza saw Lucy's pass fly straight and true right along the width of the pitch headed straight for her. She was just extending her arms to receive the pass when at the last second, she spotted a bludger in the corner of her eye. Pulling hard left on her broom Lizza felt herself scream as the bludger sailed past, mere centimetres from her head. She was thankful she was on Zander's Nimbus 3030 otherwise it would have hit her.

Turning her head to try and spot where the Quaffle had ended up Lizza was heartbroken to see Stephanie Lynn scoop up the Quaffle as it fell.

"Thanks for the assist Karoonda." Stephanie taunted as she raced away. Lizza nearly caught up with her but by the time she did Stephanie was already in the scoring area and had put away another Goal.

 **"** **Lynn nails another one! Karoonda's inexperience showing in that last play – Let that be a lesson to all aspiring players out there, always way keep an eye out for bludgers – Gryffindor extend their lead to 30."**

"It's alright Liz!" Juliet yelled at her as she handed her off the Quaffle. "You're trying, that's all we can ask."

Hufflepuff's situation got worse as the game went on. They managed to get at least one score 10 minutes in when Stephanie got over ambitious with the Quaffle and accidently crashed into Juliet before she could score. Lucy put away the penalty shot but it didn't help too much. Lizza was thankful Liam and Nickolas were on the team; twice they had stopped Christopher Newton catching the Snitch with a well-placed bludger. At the 15-minute mark, Gryffindor were leading Hufflepuff 80 -10.

 **"** **Lynn gets the steal off Karronda – She races down the pitch – Matthews tries to block but is dodged –Another challenger approaches and Peterson goes for the steal – WHAT A POXY OF A MOVE! - Lynn sells Peterson the dummy and passes it off to Boxer – Boxer's in prime scoring position – AND THE KNOB NAILS IT!"**

 **"** **Brown if you can't keep it clean I'll take the microphone from you."**

 **"** **Sorry Professor, but he is a bit of a Knob."**

 **"** **BROWN!"**

 **"** ** _Sorry!"_**

"Come on Liz! It's not over until the Snitch is caught." Liam was trying desperately to get her fired up. "You going prove me wrong about giving you that broom or not?"

Lizza sat up and dropped into formation with Lucy who currently had the Quaffle. Jordan Fowler knocked a bludger towards them forcing Lizza to break away from their formation allowing Alice Poewitt an opportunity to slam into Lucy. Lucy managed to stay on her broom but unfortunately fumbled and dropped the Quaffle, which of course was picked up Stephanie Lynn.

"Screw this." Lizza yelled to herself. "I'm not letting that cow score again."

 **"** **Poewitt gives Peterson the old Shoulder and Broom stick – Peterson drops the Quaffle and its picked up by Lynn – Lynn makes for goal post – SHE SELLS THE DAM DUMMY AGAIN! WAIT NO! – Intercepted by Karoonda! – Karoonda races back down the pitch - … …wait No… I DON'T BEILEVE IT! – She's doing the Wollongong Shimmy!"**

Lizza raced down the pitch with the Quaffle safely tucked under her arms, the remaining Gryffindor players were closing in on her. Looking down the pitch the familiarity of the situation dawned on Lizza and her mind wandered back to her mock practice sessions with her aunty back home.

"This'll show them." Lizza grinned to herself.

With familiar practice in her mind Lizza carefully brought her right leg up from the stirrup and positioned it behind her, right were the broom twigs meet the shaft.

Then Lizza stood up.

She zigzagged down the pitch using her broom like one would use a surfboard. She effortlessly dodged an outright tackle from François Boxer and then weaved in between Jordan Fowler and passing bludger. The roar of the crowd was incredible.

 **"** **Karoonda dodges left, she's dodges right – She shaken everyone off – who knows which direction she'll turn next – It's just Karoonda and Swann now – Chaser vs. Keeper – Karoonda Aims – She shoots? – SHE FUCKING SCOREEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!"**

Professor McGonagall didn't even tell him off, she was staring wide at eyed at Lizza's performance clapping respectfully. Lizza dropped back down into a sitting position after she scored and the crowd went absolutely nuts. Lizza wished her Aunty had of seen that move, she made a mental note to thank her for teaching her the Shimmy.

"THAT WAS AMAZING!" Kaylean crashed into with an aggressive hug. "Where the hell did you learn that?"

Before Lizza could answer Nickolas flew over and yelled at them. "KAYLEAN! You're supposed to be looking for the Snitch!"

"Right!" Kaylean sheepishly responded and raced off.

"Nice work Karoonda." Nickolas congratulated her giving her a high five as they passed. "Now get back down to defence it's not over yet."

Lizza's goal might not have outright won the game but it did give Hufflepuff a much needed confidence boost. Lucy managed to score another 2 times thanks to a couple of brilliant interceptions by Lizza, and Juliet made up for her previous performance by not letting another score get past her.

But what really sealed the game for the Hufflepuffs was how demoralised the Gryffindor team had become. With each successful steal, intercept, block or goal by Hufflepuffs, the Gryffindor team became more and more sloppy. They dropped passes, shot wide, and made silly fouls; it was a sight to watch.

 **"…** **Summers and Newton are neck and neck – they're normally rivals when they're both chasing the Quaffle and that remains true for when their chasing the Snitch – it's 90 to 40 so it's anyone's game right now – Summers got the edge thanks to her Nimbus - she's pulling ahead – she's in front of Newton now – What the Hell? Why'd she duck? – Oh! That's why she ducked! - Newton gets cleaned up by a bludger!**

With Christopher Newton taking a Bludger to the jaw - curtsey of Liam – and getting knocked off his broom, Kaylean had all the time in the world to catch the Snitch. The Crowd exploded with cheers once the golden winged ball was safely in her hands. Lizza raced over to her once they all landed and got wrapped up in a group hug.

"We won! WE WON! I won my first Quidditch match!" Lizza was jumping up and down hugging Kaylean whilst the rest of the team cheered alongside them.

"We got to tell Lufkin and the others!" Nickolas said cheerily. "They'll want to know we still have a chance at the cup."

"I'm sure someone else from the House is already on their way up to the Hospital Wing to tell them." Juliet said cheerily.

"I knew it was a good idea putting you in little grasshopper." Liam ruffled her hair whilst trying to maintain his awful accent. "What you did half way through the match was amazing!"

"That was the Wollongong Shimmy wasn't it?" Nickolas asked.

"Yeah." Lizza said blushing. "My Aunt thought it to me. I don't why I thought I should try it though."

"Well whatever the reason it sure got me fired up." Kaylean said giving her yet another hug.

"And me." Lucy happily interrupted. "No way I was going to let a first year show me up. I don't think I dropped the Quaffle once after you scored."

"I only scored once it wasn't that big of a deal." Lizza said trying to play down her achievement." You scored three times Lu and Kaylean caught the snitch."

"Don't sell yourself short Liz." Liam protested. "You were what brought us back into the game."

"But…"

"No buts Liz. You really stepped up out there." Nick praised. "Come on gang let get changed and head back. PARTY IN THE HUFFLEPUFF COMMON ROOM TONIGHT!"

A cheer went up from the group of Hufflepuffs that were now crowding around the team. On the walk back to the change rooms, Liam and Nick got a couple of 7th years to sort out getting some food for the party.

Lizza talked excitedly with the other girls as they changed, each bringing up the most exciting part of the match for them; they were definitely going to be talking about this match for a while. They had nearly finished changing out of there Quidditch robes when Amber stuck her head in.

"Amber! Did you watch the game, where's CJ did she watch the game too?" Lizza asked her excitedly.

"Of course I watched the game." Amber smiled before frowning. "CJ watched, but didn't want to come in here though… in case she made you girls feel uncomfortable… I told her she was being daft but whatever she wouldn't listen to me."

"You girls okay with CJ coming in here?" Lizza asked her team mates.

"CJ?" Kaylean asked confused.

"You know the trans witch from first year." Juliet reminded her.

"Yeah sure. No drama."

Lizza slipped on her sweater and marched out of the change area to look for Casey. Amber tried to tell her to hang on a sec but Lizza wanted none of it. Lizza spotted Casey almost as soon as she stepped out of the change area but she froze in place once she saw who she was talking to.

"Dad!? Aunt Lu!? What are you doing here?" Lizza asked before she raced over to her relatives.

"Hey Lizzy, we came to watch your game of course." Lizza's Aunt gave her a great big hug when she came over.

"You didn't have to come all this way just to watch me play."

"There was no way I was going to miss my little girls first Quidditch match." Mr Karoonda teased.

"But… But how? Parents aren't supposed to be at Hogwarts?" Lizza asked confused.

"Professor Sprout invited us. Parents are allowed to come watch their children play Quidditch on occasion." Her Aunt informed her. "You should thank you friends Amber and CJ though, they were the ones that told us you were playing."

"You girls are the best friends ever!" Lizza lent over and gave them both massive hugs.

"I figured you'd forget to tell your folks with all the training and stuff so I owled them pretty much the day Sharp and Abbot asked you." Amber said.

"Oh thanks." Lizza said bashfully. "So did you see me pull off the Shimmy Aunt Lu?"

"Yes I did. If I didn't know any better I thought I was watching Maria or Matthew." Aunt Lucy remarked. "I'm glad we caught it in time."

"Caught it in time?"

"We were running a bit late sweet heart." Mr Karoonda began. "We missed the first 5 minutes of the game."

"Oh, you didn't miss much I was awful at the start."

"You were fine Liz." Liam had finished getting changed and came into the room. "Hi, I'm Liam Abbot I'm one of Lizza's team mates."

Liam shook both of Lizza's relative's hands respectfully. "You should have seen her right at the beginning. She managed to pluck the Quaffle right out of the toss. Used this cool spin move."

"Cool spin move huh?" Aunt Lucy smirked whilst looking at Lizza from the corner of her eye. "I think you've been watching too many of the Warriors training sessions Liz. That was one of my team mates Maria's favourite move."

"I may have copied it from Maria." Lizza mumbled.

"I'll tell her you put it too good use." Aunt Lucy laughed.

"Oh my god! Your Lucy Karoonda! And You're Noel Karoonda." Nickolas had come out of the change room and raced straight up to Lizza's relatives shaking their hands aggressively. "I know all about your stats you average 17 minutes and 24 seconds to catch the Snitch and have won more games as Captain than any other Australian player. And you sir! You have coached over 500 games of Quidditch, helping the Warriors win over a dozen different League championships. WOW!"

Unlike Liam as soon as Nickolas saw Lizza's relatives he started geeking out completely much to the awkwardness of everyone else in the room.

"You'll have to excuse our Captain he's a bit excitable when it comes to Quidditch." Liam was covering Nickolas' mouth with his hand and was now dragging him out of the planning room.

"No worries. Always nice to see a fan." Lizza's Aunt smiled. "You two were both good out there; you'll make a couple of promising beaters. Thought about trying to go pro?"

"Ahhh, not yet. We'll catch you all later." Liam somehow managed to drag Nickolas out of the room. Lizza could have sworn she heard Nick say 'Lucy Karoonda thinks I'm a promising beater.'

"Interesting bunch." Mr Karoonda awkwardly commented.

"Ahh yeah…" Lizza replied. "So why were you late?"

"International Portkey travel and be a bit inaccurate at times." Mr Karoonda nervously laughed. "We were hoping to get here before the start of the match to give you your broom."

"You brought my Broom!?" Lizza shouted.

"Yeah we did. Although from what I saw you're doing pretty well without it. How did you get your hands on a Nimbus 3030?" Aunt Lucy asked.

"Oh it's not mine. It's actually our starting Seekers broom, but he's out sick so he loaned me his broom just for today's match."

"That was nice of him. They are a dream to fly aren't they? Not as fast as a Firebolt mind you so I don't think I'll be flying on one anytime soon…. Anyway Professor Sprout said that since your only kind of a 1st year the rules only kind of apply to you. So she let us bring you your broom."

"NIMBY!" Lizza gleefully shouted as her aunt handed her broom.

"Nimby?" Amber and Casey giggled.

"Ah yeah." Lizza blushed remembering that her friends were also in the room. "It's the name I gave my Nimbus 2001."

"It's actually my old broom stick from back before the Firebolt was released." Lizza's aunt clarified.

"That's so cool. I wish my parents would give me something cool like that." Casey sighed.

"Oh, I was meaning to ask. Is Mum here? Did she come with you too?"

"Sorry Liz," Mr Karoonda answered. "Your Mum was feeling pretty sick this morning so she stayed behind. My mum's looking after her at the moment. That's part of the reason why we're late."

"Oh…" Lizza trying not to sound too disappointed. "I hope she gets better."

"Cheer up Liz. She would be very proud of your performance today so make sure you send her a nice long letter about today's match. Alright?"

"Okay…." Lizza sighed.

"We better go Bro. We should already be off the campus." Mr Karoonda nodded to his sister.

"We'll see you at Easter sweet heart." Mr Karoonda leaned down to give his daughter a hug and a kiss.

"Thanks Dad. Thanks Aunt Lu." Lizza gave her a hug also.

"See you later Liz, and don't party to hard tonight. I know what happens after School Quidditch games. Make sure you get some sleep."

"We'll make sure she does." Amber reassured.

As Lizza walked back to the Hufflepuff common room with her two closest friends, an inescapable smile was etched onto her face. Maybe, just maybe, Hogwarts was the right choice after all.


	18. Chapter 18: Snakes and Ladders

**Chapter Eighteen: Snakes and Ladders**

The jubilation from Hufflepuff's victory over Gryffindor lasted all night, and well into the next morning. Professor Sprout was incredibly disappointed – not to mention annoyed - that the party was still going when she entered the Common Room Sunday morning. With a swipe of her wand she packed up all the drinks, food, and party supplies, and told everyone to either go to sleep or go do some study.

The celebration ended almost immediately.

Amber had kept her promise to Mr Karoonda and managed to drag Lizza to bed around Midnight. What she didn't expect, was for Lizza to uncharacteristically wake up the next morning at 6am and re-join the party. At least until Professor Sprout arrived that is.

Lizza's depression had all but vanished in the week following their win and Amber was happy to see her friend truly enjoying her time at Hogwarts for once. She even noticed she was using her magic less to keep warm, though Amber couldn't tell if that was because it was getting closer to summer or if it was because she was happy. In the end Amber figured it was a little of both.

Amber woke the following Sunday to find Casey sitting cross legged on top of her bed brushing out her hair. It had grown a lot since Christmas and was now touching the top of her shoulders.

"Morning." Amber yawned.

"Morning." Casey giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing." Casey was still trying to get her giggles under control. "It's just that for once you're the last one up and Liz has already gotten dressed and left."

"Liz is already up?" Amber asked shocked.

"Yup. She's got Quidditch practice this morning."

"I thought Liz was only filling for one game."

"She was, but Summers and Peterson came barging in here early this morning and woke Liz up, telling her that Liam wanted her at practice. When Liz protested saying the deal was only for one game they laughed, and said 'well you're on the reserves now' and dragged her out of the room. Honestly I'm surprised it didn't wake you up, they were quite noisy."

"I was up late last night finishing that Transfiguration essay Professor Rockfield set." Amber yawning again. "I lost track of time."

"If you needed help with Transfiguration you could've asked me."

"It wasn't that hard it was just… Long… I mean where does he get off setting us _3_ _foot_ roll of parchment and expecting us to hand it in in by Monday. It's totally unfair, we only got it on Friday."

"He was probably getting back at us for talking in class again." Casey reasoned.

"We weren't the only ones. Melanie and Raylea were talking too." Amber challenged. "And what do you care, you had yours done by the end of the day anyhow."

"It's was only on switching spells it wasn't that hard."

"Said the teachers pet." Amber joked.

"Hey! I'm not a teacher's pet! Professor Rockfield just likes me because I actually can do the stuff he sets for us in class."

"Like I said." Amber sang. " _Teacher's_. _Pet._ "

"Argh!" Casey growled. "If you're going to be like this this morning I'm going to breakfast."

Casey swung her legs off her bed and stormed out of the room, even throwing her hair brush at Amber as she left, causing Amber to shield herself with her pillow whilst she laughed maniacally. Amber got up and went through her normal morning routine (save for putting on her school uniform as it was the weekend) and made her way down to the great hall after Casey.

When Amber stepped into the Great hall she saw Casey angrily munching on her breakfast. "Sorry CJ, I didn't mean to annoy you."

"Yeah well you should be sorry." Casey refused to look at Amber.

"Is there anyway I can make it up to you?" Amber pouted.

Casey took one fleeting look at Amber before she broke into a fit of giggles. "That puppy dog look is so not you Amber. _But…_ if you do want to make it up to me, it is possible for me to borrow Nocturne? I want to ask my sister if I'm staying with her for the Easter Holidays."

"CJ if you need to borrow Nocturne you don't have to ask me. He usually just shows up at the window when you need him anyway."

"Thanks," Casey replied. "I hope my sisters found a new place for the both of us."

"I'm sure she has. When has your sister ever let you down?" Casey just smiled her response. Both girls continued to eat their breakfast in relative peace, right up until the Hufflepuff Quidditch team entered the great hall.

"Gooooood Morning!" Lizza was practically singing when she came and sat down. "What's for breakfast? I'm starved."

Casey and Amber shared an amused look with each other before Amber decided to address the situation. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"Guess who's now a reserve on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team." Lizza prompted.

"I know," Amber said with a smirk. "Casey told me this morning."

"You told her!?" Lizza huffed. "I wanted to tell her."

"Sorry I didn't know it was a secret." Casey apologised. "So how was practice?"

"It was amazing!" Lizza babbled. "Okay some of the drills were boring, but once we finished doing those we started to run plays and stuff. You should have seen the look on Lufkin face when Nick told me to get up and do the Shimmy."

"Sounds like you had fun." Casey smiled.

"It was so much fun! I don't think there's anything that could possibly be more fun!"

"Well I got an idea for how when can have some more fun?" Amber cheekily mentioned.

"Uh Oh." Casey and Lizza both said in unison.

"You haven't even heard my idea yet."

"I know your ideas Amber," Casey cautioned, "And anything that you have come up with is bad one."

"Don't you want to at least hear it?"

"Go on then." Casey said defeated. "Otherwise we'll be hearing it all week."

Pouting slightly before she continued, Amber excitedly plunged into her idea. "You know how we've talking about the 2nd Floor Bathrooms? Well I was thinking that since Easter Holidays are next week, the day before we head back we go and check out the 2nd floor."

"That is arguably your stupidest idea yet." Casey said deadpan.

"I don't know Amber. I finish my Detention that day. I don't really want to start a new one as soon as I finish my old one." Lizza mentioned.

"Come on, you know that there is something going on in the 2nd floor bathroom. Where is your sense of adventure?"

"I left it back in Australia when I got my but kicked in a duel." Lizza sarcastically replied.

"No you haven't. You got it back when your Dad and Aunt gave you back you broom."

"Drop it Amber." Casey cautioned against her. "We're not sneaking around the castle at night."

"But we won't get caught, I got my mum's spyglass remember."

"Hey look the mail's here." Casey used the distraction of the morning mail to try and completely shut down the current conversation.

"But…"

" _The mail is here."_ Casey repeated more aggressively.

The Owls arrived with the morning mail, swooping down over the tables dropping letters and parcels to their respective witches and wizards, except Amber of course. Her mail landed in front of Casey.

"I see Nocturne is still dropping your mail in front of Casey." Lizza laughed.

"Yeah…" Amber replied a little venomously. "I still don't know why he does it."

Amber snatched her mail out of Casey's hands who was apologetically handing it back to Amber; she had already taken her letter out of the pile. The three girls opened their letters and eagerly went through their mail.

"Either of you want a Popping Pear Drop?" Amber asked her friends. She had received a bag of homemade sweets from Saffron.

"What's on earth is a Popping Pear Drop?" Casey asked confused.

"It's these really awesome sweets Saffron makes." Amber offered the open bag to Casey. "Try one."

Casey tentatively reached into the bag and pulled out a small sweet in the shape of a pear. Cautiously she popped the sweet into her mouth and a few moments later her eyes went wide before she started coughing.

"What on earth was that?" Casey sputtered through her coughs. "That was the sourest thing I have ever tasted."

"You don't like it." Amber said sadly looking into the bag.

"They aren't bad I just… Wow. Wasn't expecting that."

"Saffron takes the Apple and Pears from the garden coats them is this awesome Sour stuff. She calls them Popping Pear Drops because she uses this spell to make sour flakes pop and bounce around your mouth."

"Yeah I noticed." Casey said as she gulped down some orange juice.

"Want another one?" Amber asked.

"Mmmmm no thanks. One's enough for now."

"Suit yourself." Amber popped one into her mouth, resulting in a large smile coming across her face. "I'm going up to the staff table to offer Professor Hackle some, Saffron said that if she found out I had some and didn't offer her any she'd probably give me detention."

"I don't want to know." Casey said with a wave. Amber giggled at her friend and made her way up to the Staff table.

"Good morning Professor Hackle." Amber cheerily announced, making the Professor look up from her reading of the Daily Prophet.

"Good morning Miss McKinnon, what can I do for you today."

"Nothing actually. Saffron said if I didn't offer you one you'd give me detention." Amber then produced the bag of sweets from behind her back and offered the open bag to Professor Hackle.

"Oh my." Professor gasped, her hand immediately shooting to her mouth. "Are those… Are those really…"

"Really what? They're just some of Saffron's Popping Pear Drops." Amber said inspecting the contents of the bag. "I think there's some Apple ones in here too though."

When Amber looked back up Professor Hackle had a look of pure delight. "Do you mind if I?"

"Not at all Professor." Amber replied by holding the bag out in front of her.

Professor Hackle nervously reached out and withdrew a sweet from the bag, placing it in her mouth soon after. Her eyes seemed to water and a single tear rolled down her check, a smile plastered on her face.

"Are you alright Professor?" Amber worriedly asked.

"Perfectly fine. It's just been a long time since I have had one of Saffron's sweets." Professor Hackle said fondly.

"Would you like some more then?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

Amber took half a dozen Drops out of the bag and handed them to Professor Hackle who conjured a jar to put them in. "If Saffron makes any more I'll be sure to give you some."

"No need to worry about that Amber." Professor Hackle said with a grin. "Let's just say I'll be sending a special letter to your cousin tonight."

Amber laughed at the Professors remark and departed with a wave. When Amber turned around and headed back down to the Hufflepuff table, Lizza looked like she was about to fall apart she was so upset. "What's wrong Liz?"

Lizza didn't answer instead Casey handed her a letter. "You might want to take a look at this."

* * *

 _Dear Lizza,_

 _There is no easy way for me to tell you this Sweet Heart but your Mum's at Harbour Hospital for Magical Healing. She's really sick at the moment and the healers have no idea what's causing it._

 _She's in a bad way. A really bad way. And… we're not sure how… how things are going to go. I'm sorry but with your mum so sick at the moment there's no way we can bring you home for Easter._

 _I've also sent a letter to Professor McGonagall telling her what is happening and I pray that I don't have to come to Hogwarts to get you…_

 _I love you always Sweet Heart._

 _Dad_

* * *

"Holy crap." Amber whispered once she read the letter, a wave of shock washed over her. "It'll be okay Liz…"

"How do you know that Amber…" Lizza mumbled. "Are you Seer? Can you look forward into time and find out. Because if you could That WOULD BE REALLY FUCKING GREAT RIGHT ABOUT NOW!"

Lizza's surprise shout made everyone in the vicinity cringe. It was understandable that she was feeling overwhelmed, but it just made the hurt compound even more. Amber tried to pull her friend into a hug only for her to be pushed away.

"I'M SICK OF THIS! EVERY TIME SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENS, SOMETHING BAD IS JUST WAITING AROUND THE CORNER!" Lizza was panting for breath once she was done. Amber was expecting her to be upset and immediately start crying but the girl was just seething with anger.

"Liz, calm down. Please… everyone is staring." Amber whispered in her friend's ear. Lizza proceeded to hunch over the table with her hands interlocked behind her head, breathing heavily.

"I can't do this." Lizza eventually cracked. "It's too much."

"Hey have a bit of faith Liz." Amber consoled. "You'll get through this."

"HOW!?" Lizza shouted again. "I'm sick of feeling Angry. I'm sick of feeling Sad. I'm sick of my emotions being played like a god dam Didgeridoo."

"I'm not sure if it'd help but if you like I can always ask my Dad and Saffron to let you stay with us for Easter?"

"R…Really?"

"I can at least ask." Amber reassured. "And if they say no, CJ and I can always stay with you at Hogwarts for the Holiday, right CJ?"

"Actually, I was really hoping to catc…" Amber shot Casey a sympathetic look hoping to make her change her mind. "Only for you Liz." Casey eventually sighed.

"Thanks girls."

"We got your back Liz." Amber said. "Always."

As it turns out the 'Great Easter Holiday' (a phrase that Amber delighted in coming up with), did not go as planned. The girl's through various letters did manage to convince Amber's Dad and Cousin to allow Lizza to stay with them however, Lizza's own dad refused.

Lizza was furious that her Dad would bar her from staying with her friends but he was adamant that she needed to stay at Hogwarts. Just in case Professor McGonagall needed to make a Portkey for her and send her home quickly. In the end the three friends stayed Hogwarts for the Holidays.

This however ended up playing perfectly into Amber's plan of investigating the 2nd floor bathroom. On the first night of the holidays Amber left the dormitory around 9pm telling Casey and Lizza that she was going to catch up with Professor Hackle for a bit before curfew. Amber wasn't sure if her friends would buy her lie as Professor hackle usually left for the holidays, so she left as soon as she said it.

Heading out the common room door, Amber brought her spy glass to her eye and looked through nearby walls to check around corners and to make sure no one was around or going to follow her. Using this advantage, Amber dodged around Mr Filch and made her way towards the 2nd floor.

Approaching the familiar colour changing stair case Amber jumped back in shock when she saw a "space" behind one of the tapestries nearby.

"Holy crap." Amber whispered to herself. "Bones and Peterson were right."

"WHAT THE HELL AMBER!?"

"Wha!" Amber yelped, nearly dropping her Spyglass. Casey had yelled at her from down the corridor, scaring the daylights out of her. Lizza was also with her and they were both sprinting towards her. Looks like they figured out she was lying and chased after her.

"Dammit Amber." Casey swore under her breath. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"She probably isn't thinking, that's the problem CJ." Lizza chipped in before she turned on Amber as well. "Are you trying to lose Hufflepuff points and get us detention?"

"N… no… I just have to know what's going on in those bathrooms." Amber sheepishly replied. "I know there's something going on in there I can feel it."

"If you are so concerned Amber why don't you just tell a teacher." Casey asked.

"What if they don't take me seriously?"

"I sometimes don't take you seriously." Casey snapped. "I still think it's a mighty big coincidence, and I'm shocked you're buying into Juliet's rumours. Come let's head back to the common room."

"Don't you want to see what I found?" Amber curiously mentioned.

Casey and Lizza looked at each other. "Found what?"

With a devilish smirk Amber pulled back a tapestry to reveal a hidden passage way.

"What the hell?" Casey gaped. "Juliet was telling the truth."

"I know right! I was surprised when I spotted it too." Amber said excitedly.

"That's not important." Lizza said snapping out of her shock. "We need to go; it's getting close to curfew."

"We still got a bit of time left." Amber pleaded. "Don't you want to see were this goes?"

"Not overly." Casey replied, but before she could say anything else they heard a hiss from within the hidden corridor. Amber immediately took off into passageway, closely followed by Lizza and Casey who grumbled behind her.

"Amber! Amber stop this is crazy we have no idea what we're following." Casey begged.

"It's some sort of animal." Amber said, her spyglass was brought up to her eye. "I can't tell what kind though. It's moving too fast to get a good look."

"This is crazy!" Lizza snipped from the back. "We are so going to get detention again."

The girls followed the passage way up to the 2nd floor which popped out right near Flitwick's classroom. Before they stepped out Amber checked the corridor was clear and once it was, they hoped out.

"Amber this is nuts." Casey panted once they exited into the corridor. "Please can we go? We are going to get into trouble if we're caught."

"But we're already here." Amber had already started to make her way to the 2nd floor bathroom.

"Come on CJ." Lizza said placing her hand on Casey's arm. "Let's head back to the Common Room and let Amber get into trouble by herself."

"And leave her alone with whatever she's chasing. Fat chance." Casey took off after Amber, closely followed by Lizza, who groaned and made her way after them.

The three girls' stopped in front of the door and Amber looked into the bathroom with the Spy glass first to check it out. "It's empty…" Amber said uncertainty.

"Empty?" Casey asked concerned.

"But I could have sworn I saw something go in there." Amber whispered. Amber's hand was reaching for the door handle only for Casey to grab it.

"Don't." Casey cautioned.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Amber pushed opened the door and stepped forward into the bathroom, drawing her wand as she did so. She was closely followed by Casey and Lizza who did the same.

 _"Lumos!"_ Casey and Lizza both lit their wands to cast more light over the room; Amber didn't even bother trying to light hers.

"There's nothing in here." Lizza said off handily. She was poking her head into the different stalls to check them out.

"But I could have sworn I saw something go in here." Amber was convinced of what she saw.

"Maybe there's another hidden passage way in the bathroom?" Casey suggested.

"That was the first thing I checked. It must be in here still." Amber reasoned. The girls continued to search the bathroom but whilst they searched none of them looked up.

A low hissing sound alerted them that they weren't alone and slowly the girls turned around and tilted their heads up. The light from Lizza and Casey's wands revealed a great big black cat with deep red eyes. It sat perched above the door to the bathroom, looking down on them from the rafter. It's hissing sent shivers down the girl's spines causing them to step back away from the door slowly.

"Wh…What is that." Casey stammered.

"I…I think it's a cat." Amber nervously replied.

"That's not a cat; it's far too big for a cat." Lizza gulped.

"What are we going to do?" Casey panicked. "It's between us and the door."

Before the girls could come up with a plan the great big cat leapt down from its perched and stalked towards them hunching low readying itself to pounce. All three girls nervously held their wands up in front of them in a vain attempt to protect themselves.

"We are so screwed." Lizza said under breath.

Before any of them realised it, the cat pounced at Amber. With a scream Amber ducked and Lizza and Casey dived to the side. Amber heard Lizza shout and a random spell flew from her wand which smashed through a stall, landing with a crash in a porcelain toilet.

Amber stole a glance behind her to find the cat had gotten itself tangled up in some of the pipes under the sink. It apparently had slid into them after it missed Amber.

"Now's our chance." Amber shouted and both Casey and Lizza got their feet and made for the door.

They rushed forward, their feet splashing on the floor due to the leaking. Exiting the bathroom, Lizza turned around just as the cat had righted itself and pounced once again at the girls.

" _Flipendo!"_

Lizza's spell was accurate but when it hit the Cat it only mildly knocked it to the side before it bounced harmlessly off it and ricocheted into the bathroom smashing a mirror. Lizza's Quidditch reflexes took over and she fell to the side narrowly avoiding the pouncing cat.

"RUN!" Amber yelled, helping Lizza off the ground.

The girls ran down the corridor as fast as their legs could carry them. They could hear the cat closing in behind them.

"In here." Lizza ordered. They narrowly ducked into a random room and slammed the door closed behind them just as the cat crashed into the door. All three girls lent against the door barricading it against the huge cat.

The room they had entered was a giant cylinder that rose up another 3 stories. The walls were lined with shelves and nooks housing all sorts of junk such as random cauldrons and spare candelabra. Ladders rose to up to the landings of the floors above them, overlooking the space bellow. They were inside one of Hogwarts many towers.

"Let's check out the 2nd floor bathroom, you said. It'll be fun you said." Casey spat at Amber.

"Shut it CJ." Amber viciously replied. "How was I supposed to know that _thing_ would be in there?"

"I told you not to go in!" Casey shot back.

"Well next time try harder when you try and stop me from doing something stupid."

"Shut up." Lizza barked. "I think it's trying to claw its way in."

The girl's immediately quietened their conversation, only for the silence to be filled with razor sharp scratching. The panels at the bottom of the door were starting to fray and just as soon as the scratches had started they had stopped.

Only for it to be punctuated by a very loud scream.

Amber narrowly opened the door to see what was happening outside and was shocked to see Melanie staring transfixed at the huge cat which was crouching down ready to pounce.

"Nice kitty…" Melanie whispered, clearly petrified at the feline in front of her.

"SHAPELL DUCK!" The moment Amber shouted those words the cat once again pounced on it's pray. Thankfully Melanie heeded the advice and dropped to her stomach right when the cat would have collided with her.

"In here quick!" Melanie looked up at Amber and her friends unsure whether she should trust them but the cat like snarls behind her urged her forwards and she was thankfully pulled into the room by Amber and Lizza.

"What is that thing?" Melanie asked through her panting breaths.

"What is that thing?" Amber repeated. "How about you tell us what on earth you were doing out in the corridor with it alone."

"No way! I asked mine first, you answer my question!"

Before the girls could keep arguing the Cat (who had gone back to clawing its way through the door) had managed to get one of its paws through a gap it made and swiped at them causing all 4 girls to scream.

"How sharp are those claws?" Casey said. "It's like it's cutting through the door!"

"The ladder." Lizza said rushing towards the nearest one. "We got to go up the ladder; I don't think cats can climb vertical ladders."

One by one the girls frantically climbed the ladder. Amber and Melanie nearly got into another argument about who would go up last but a loud hiss from the door scared the lights out of them and Amber dashed up the ladder ahead of Melanie.

Amber had just reached the top of the ladder when the cat squeezed its way into the room and hissed loudly at the girls. The cat prowled at the bottom of the ladder looking up at them with its beady red eyes until it crouched down beneath the ladder and jumped straight up. The cat's claws sunk into the back of Melanie's robes, causing her feet to slip on the rung and straining her grip on the ladder.

"Please don't leave me." Melanie desperately begged.

Amber reached down to Melanie and extended her hand. "Take my hand!"

Melanie let go of the rung with her left hand and desperately grabbed Amber's right arm, all the while Lizza and Casey were holding onto Amber to prevent her from falling off the landing. The Cat's thrashes intensified and Amber felt her friends losing their grip behind her.

"We got to hit it with a spell." Lizza suggested.

"You can't! You'll hit me!" Melanie coughed. "Besides it'll just bounce off, I tried it before, it didn't work."

"I'll work if we do it together!" Lizza said drawing her wand and pointing at the angry cat hanging off Melanie's robes. Casey and Amber followed suit, pointing their wands at the cat.

"Trust us." Amber whispered to Melanie, her eyes were wide with terror.

"Ready? NOW!"

 _"FLIPENDO!"_ All three shouted.

Although one jinx failed, three jinxes combined were enough to overwhelm the cat's defences and knock it out of Melanie's robes; tearing it to piece's as its claws were ripped out of the fabric. The jinxes coupled with gravity slammed the cat into the floor with such force that it knocked it out when it hit the ground.

Panting and exhausted Amber pulled Melanie up onto the landing were all 4 girl's now lay gasping for air.

"Th… Thanks for saving me." Melanie finally breathed.

"Yeah…" Amber replied. "We couldn't just leave you with that thing."

"What was that?" Casey asked as she peered over the edge looking down at the unconscious cat bellow.

"A cat… I think?" Lizza uncertainly answered, she was also looking over the edge at the cat. "What's that thing around its neck?"

This observation prompted Amber and Melanie to come and peer over the edge. "There's something around its neck?"

"Yeah. You see right were with collar should be." Lizza pointed out. Squinting, Amber looked closely at the area around its neck and spotted the glint of a shining white pendant.

"I wonder what that is." Amber said to the group.

"I bet you 10 Sickles that's the thing causing it to go crazy." Lizza said.

"The only way we'll know if we take it off that thing."

"Are you crazy Amber?" Casey said shocked. "We barely survived running away from that thing and you want to go down there and pick at it?"

"No. I was going to suggest that we use a spell or something." Amber replied.

"It took 3 of us to knock it out. You really think we have enough coordination to levitate that thing off its neck together?"

A soft purring from the Cat bellow caused all the girl's too pull themselves back to the safety of the landing.

"I think we should go." Melanie suggested. The girl's left the circular room via another door which exited them somewhere up on the third floor.

"We should head back to the Common Room," Casey mentioned when she looked at her watch. "It's past curfew."

Amber used her spy glass to scout around corners and check nearby rooms. When Amber pulled it out Melanie was a little taken back that Amber owned such an object but luckily, she said nothing about it.

They were nearing the stair cases to head back down to the 2nd floor when Casey pipped back up. "Hey Amber did you check behind that stone gargoyle we just passed?"

"The gargoyle? Why?"

The sound of stone grinding against stone stopped them all cold and once they could hear the sound of heels clicking, the girls knew they had been had.

"Thank you Minerva. I really appreciate you allowing this…" Professor Hackle's voice stopped the moment she saw Amber and her friends, plus Melanie standing in the corridor. Professor McGonagall would have otherwise stayed at the top of the stairs, but Professor Hackle's abrupt pause made her descend the steps to see what the matter was.

"Good evening girls." The Headmistress sternly spoke. "Would you care to explain why the 4 of you are out of bed?"

"We… ah-"

"What we-"

"It was-"

"Um-"

"One at a time girl's." Professor Hackle cut through the babble, silencing the 1st years. She then turned to Casey with stern smile, causing Amber and Lizza to wince. "Miss Jands perhaps you can enlighten us."

"I… I um…Well… Well you see... Amber was convinced that there was something lurking around the 2nd floor bathroom, so she snuck out of the Common Room just before Curfew to go check it out." Casey gave Amber a small smile as if to apologise for throwing her under the bus, Amber sighed and nodded to her friend to continue. "Liz and I chased after her once we realised and tried to convince her to drop it but, um… Once Amber gets her mind set on something that's pretty much impossible..."

Amber could feel Professor Hackle's disapproving gaze burning into her. She was hoping that Saffron and her dad weren't going to hear about this little 'Adventure', but she knew that the first thing Professor Hackle was going to do after this was send them a letter.

"…We followed something into the 2nd floor bathrooms but whatever it was it cornered us. We think it was a giant cat."

"A cat?" Professor McGonagall asked unimpressed.

"We think so." Lizza said. "It looked like a cat just WAY bigger. I think it was possessed or curse."

"Anyway." Casey restarting the story. "It jumped at us, and we managed to somehow get away but it chased us down the corridor into this big circular room. We thought we were safe until we heard Shapell scream outside. We brought her into the room and climbed a ladder to get away from the cat, but it jumped up at Shapell and nearly tore her off the ladder. Together Amber, Liz, and I managed to knock it out with a jinx. You caught us pretty much as soon as we left the room."

"That is quite the tale Miss Jands. I hope that all 4 of you understand the seriousness of your actions tonight. There's a reason students are not allowed out of bed after hours." Professor McGonagall gave a disappointed sigh. "If you were concerned about a wild animal that had mistakenly entered the castle you should alert a teacher immediately. Instead of going after it yourselves; if this creature truly was cursed as you say, you should all count yourself lucky that you came out of it without any serious injuries."

Professor McGonagall stared at each of them in turn; causing each of the girls to avert their Headmistresses gaze by looking at the ground. "30 points will be taken from each of you. You can thank Miss Jands that I did not make it 50. Of course, detention goes without saying."

"If I may Headmistress, would you mind if administered with these fours detention?" Professor Hackle asked. "I have dealt with these girls' before."

"Very well then," Professor McGonagall agreed, "If you wouldn't mind taking them back to their common rooms Annabelle, clearly they can't be trusted to get back unsupervised. I'm going to have a look at the 2nd floor."

"What!? Alone?" Melanie blurted out.

Professor McGonagall was not impressed with Melanie. "Miss Shapell I am the Headmistress of Hogwarts. I have dealt with forces far more sinister than a mere stray cat. I assure you I will be fine."

The stern look from Professor McGonagall caused Melanie to shy away.

"Alright girl's follow me." Professor Hackle lead the girl's away from the Headmistresses office and Professor McGonagall darted off down towards the 2nd floor corridor. They dropped Melanie of outside the Slytherin Common Room first which was surprisingly located behind a hidden stone wall. Melanie muttered to Amber and her friends once last 'thanks', before she disappeared into the Slytherin Dungeon.

Professor Hackle then led the Hufflepuff's down the familiar winding corridors until they arrived at the vinegar barrels. With a knock Professor Hackle opened the secret entrance and motioned for them to enter.

"In you get Miss Jands, Miss Karoonda. Miss McKinnon if you wouldn't mind waiting a moment." Amber immediately knew how mad Professor Hackle was with them. Normally she would address them by their first names when it was just them, the fact she was using their family names didn't bode well.

Once Casey and Lizza were inside and the Common Room door was securely closed Professor Hackle turned to Amber almost immediately. "Turn out your pockets Miss McKinnon."

Reluctantly Amber did so and the moment she pulled out the Spyglass Professor Hackle collected it from her and examined it; levelling a long sigh once she realised what the object was. "I am _VERY_ disappointed in you Amber."

"I know…" Amber timidly replied, still looking down at her feet.

"That was completely and utterly irresponsible of you. We didn't make this Spyglass so you could go sneaking around the Castle at night." Professor Hackle yelled.

"You… You made it?" Amber gasped. Amber knew her Mum owned the spyglass when she was at school, she didn't know she had made it.

"Yes of course. Your Mum, Saffron and I made it in our final year at Hogwarts to help us stay one step ahead of bullies. _We did not_ make it so we could sneak around." Professor Hackle sternly lectured. "Ruby would be absolutely appalled that you have used our prized creation for some something as stupid as looking around the castle for cursed cats. What do you think your Mum would say right now if she found out about what you had done?"

"She would probably yell at me like you are now." Amber mumbled.

"Exactly… and to think I had organised a trip to Hogsmeade for you and your friends over the holidays."

"What!?… But… but I thought first and second years weren't allowed to go to Hogsmeade." Amber asked surprised.

"Normally yes. But since your friend Miss Karoonda was having a tough time with her mum being sick and being away from home, I convinced Professor McGonagall to let me escort you to Hogsmeade for a day. I think it's safe to say that none of you deserve it now."

"No, Professor." Amber was sullen. Professor Hackle had organised this wonderful trip for them but because of her running off and trying to take things into her own hands she had spoiled things once again.

"Crying won't change my mind Amber." Professor Hackle finally deflated, her anger finally running its course once she saw how upset Amber was over losing the trip.

Amber opened her mouth to retort but Professor Hackle silenced her with a hand. "And no, I will not let 'just' Lizza and Casey go. You three were in it together therefore you will receive your punishments together. My classroom tomorrow morning _before_ breakfast, I'll have a message sent to Miss Shapell as well."

"Yes Professor, I'll tell them." Amber sulked.

"Good. Now go to bed."

Amber left the Professor with a pit in her stomach.


	19. Chapter 19: Dancing in the Sky

**Chapter Nineteen: Dancing in the sky**

Lizza had to hand it to Professor Hackle. She had a knack for coming up with unique punishments.

The morning after their adventure on the 2nd floor Professor Hackle had called Lizza and her friends (plus Melanie of course) into her office first thing. Lizza had expected something similar to last time they had detention with Professor Hackle where they were made to write essays about what they did wrong however that was not the case this time.

Instead Professor Hackle asked them to line up in front of her desk and hold out their non-preferred hands. Lizza shared a look with her friends who were equally confused as she was. When Professor Hackle stepped in front of her, she closed her eyes expecting a sharp sting across her hand; but it never came. Instead when she looked down at her arm she found a small bell and chain wrapped around her wrist.

Lizza was even more confused when Professor Hackle cheerily dismissed them from her classroom saying their detention was over. All four girl's stared at the bells around there wrists as they left the classroom.

"Our detention is a bell?" Casey asked confused.

"It seems like it." Lizza said equally confused.

"I don't understand?" Amber jangled her bell on her wrist. "How is this a punishment?"

"Maybe they do something." Lizza poked her bell hoping something would happen.

"Oh god." Casey muttered. "I can't take the bell off; the chain tightens when I try and pull it off."

All the girl's pulled on their chains and found that Casey was correct. There was no way to take the bells off.

"So Professor Hackle wants us to keep them on?" Amber said uncertainly.

"Seems like it," Lizza replied. "I wonder why though."

The girls continued their walk into the Great Hall for breakfast, the bells around their wrist giving off a silvery tune as they went. The moment they stepped into the hall Melanie awkwardly broke away from the group and headed straight for the Slytherin table, she hadn't said anything to them all morning.

The girl's entrance into the hall didn't go unnoticed. Their new jewellery made sure of that and once everyone realised what was around their wrists every student from 2nd year and up started laughing at them.

Lizza and her friends were incredibly flustered once they finally managed to sit down. Being the holidays the spread of food was kept down to one end of the tables since there was only about a half a dozen or so students from each house that had stayed.

"So you're the ones that lost us points, I was wondering who got 'belled'." Frank Truman was trying to be cross with the girl's but he couldn't stop laughing at the situation. Lizza was sure that if Hufflepuff wasn't already last in the house cup standings this conversation would be vastly different.

"What do you mean got 'belled'?" Lizza asked.

Still trying to suppress his chuckles Frank tried to tell them. "Whenever Professor Hackle catches someone after curfew or in a place they shouldn't be instead of giving them detention she makes them wear those bells."

"That doesn't seem so bad." Casey said looking at her bell.

"Maybe right now," Frank scoffed, "But just you wait until tonight. At 9 o'clock those bells won't stop ringing until you head back into the common room, same thing happens when you try and go somewhere you shouldn't."

"9 o'clock?" Amber pouted. "But that's an hour before curfew."

"You were out past curfew." Frank reminded them. "And don't even think about trying to just ignore them. Those things are dam annoying."

"I guess so." Lizza mumbled. "How do you know so much about them anyway?"

"I ahhh…. Kind of had one last year…."

Lizza broke into a fit of giggles. "How did you manage that?"

"Zander and I... We used to sneak out to the Quidditch pitch and muck around."

"I never thought you'd be a rebel." Lizza joked.

"Yeah well the things we do in our 1st year." Frank shrugged.

The conversation quickly turned stale after that and moved onto mundane topics such as what they were going to do to suppress their boredom over the holidays. But this breakfast was far from done when it came to entertainment.

When the owl post arrived Nocturne uncharacteristically dropped Amber's mail in front of her as opposed to dropping it in front of Casey, much to everyone's shock.

"Oh no." Lizza exclaimed upon seeing the bright red envelope that Amber had just received.

"What do you mean 'Oh no'?" Amber asked as she reached out for the letter, it had steam coming out of the corners.

"Word of advice," Lizza quickly added before sticking her fingers in her ears, "Cover your ears."

"Cover my ears?" Amber had barely touched the letter when the bright red envelope twisted in front of her and sprung to life. Lizza had been expecting it, so had Frank and the other Hufflepuff's at the table, Amber and Casey however, did not.

 ** _"AMBER JADE MCKINNON! WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING THROUGH THAT DUMB HEAD OF YOURS!"_**

Saffron's booming voice echoed around the hall, doubling in volume due to the fact there were only a couple a dozen students in the hall.

 ** _"HOW DARE YOU USE OUR CREATION FOR SOMETHING AS STUPID AS SNEAKING AROUND THE CASTLE AT NIGHT! IF YOU WERE AT HOME, I YOU WOULD BE WORKING YOU TO THE BONE, AND YOUR FATHER AGREES WITH ME! DO ANOTHER STUPID THING LIKE THAT AGAIN, AND YOU'LL BE LOSING MORE THAN A JUST A HERILOOM!"_**

The letter spontaneously combusted once it was done and the few occupants in the hall once again broke down into laughter whilst they all stared and pointed at Amber.

"What the hell was that?" Amber shakily asked, wiping ash off herself.

"That, was a Howler." Lizza explained.

"A Howler?" Amber said uncertainly.

"Honestly sometimes I wonder how you're a half blood." Amber shot Lizza a dirty look before she continued. "It's a letter that someone sends you when their mad at you."

"Well I gathered that!" Amber sulked. "Saffron's voice echoed around the whole room!"

"Well maybe someone shouldn't have snuck around the school last night, and dragged us along with you!"

"I didn't ask you to come." Amber fired back, engaging in a deadly starting contest with Lizza.

"Whatever." Lizza scoffed, as she broke eye contact.

"Say Liz?" Frank asked once Lizza turned away from her friends.

"Yeah?"

"I just had a thought, and well you know how we were talking about how to prevent ourselves from dying of boredom?" Lizza nodded yes uncertainly, "Well, you and I are the only members of the Quidditch team still at a school and I was thinking it might not be a bad idea to get some practice in whilst the pitch is free."

"You're not asking me to sneak out of the Castle, are you?" Lizza asked, "Because I'm already in enough trouble at the moment."

Lizza waved her wrists around in front of Frank making her bell jingle lightly.

"No, no, no. We'd ask Professor Sprout for permission of course," Frank said quickly, "I'd probably lose my spot on the team if Sprout found out I was going behind her back again."

"Sprout? Na, she's always goes easy on Hufflepuffs." Lizza joked.

"So is that a yes?" Franks asked uncertainly.

"Sure, why not." Lizza laughed. "So long as you're ready to get the pants beaten off you."

"Oh, it is so on Karoonda."

Over the next two weeks, Lizza practically lived at the Quidditch pitch. It almost became routine, that every morning at around 11am, Lizza would appear in front of Professor Sprout's office, asking for permission to use the Quidditch pitch. A couple of times Professor Sprout said 'No' because of how often Lizza was heading down there, but since it was the holidays more often than not however Professor Sprout gave Lizza access to the pitch. Mostly because when Lizza wasn't allowed to go down she would spend the majority of the day mopping around the Common Room worrying about her Mum.

It was mostly Lizza and Frank who headed down to the pitch though Casey and Amber joined them a few times simply because they were bored. Casey just flew around the pitch a few times whilst Amber on the other hand refused to go anywhere near a broom, instead preferring to watch them from the stands.

"How do you do it?" Frank asked Lizza. The pair had just sat down in the stands after they had finished their last impromptu practice session before the start of term.

"Do what?" Lizza responded.

"Stand on your broom."

"I don't know." Lizza shyly replied. "I just stand on my broom."

"Come on stop holding out on me Liz, I know there's more to it than that." Frank demanded.

"Not really. You just need a good sense of balance." Lizza climbed up and casually walked along the edge of the waist high railing in front of her. "See."

Frank looked sceptically at his team mate. "Balance… really? That's all there is too it?"

"Pretty much, though I will admit it does take some practice." Lizza said sheepishly. "Aunt Lu has been training me for the past 5 years."

"5 years seriously!? It takes that long to learn?"

"Well if you start now maybe you'll be able to do it by the time you finish school." Lizza teased.

"I think I will then!" Frank challenged. He then attempted to climb up onto the railing that Lizza was standing on only for him to fall off it the moment his feet touched the bar. Lizza let out a yelp when Frank grabbed her arm in a vain attempt to prevent himself from falling.

"Ow…" Lizza complained. Once she shook off the dizziness and opened her eyes she was greeted by a pair of deep blue's ones staring into hers.

"Sorry about that." Frank said sheepishly. Somehow in the fall to the ground Frank had ended up on top of Lizza.

"You can get off me now." Lizza flatly remarked.

"Sorry, here let me help you up." Frank said, before proceeding to help Lizza off the floor.

Once back on her feet Lizza dusted herself off and sat back down on the benches. "Maybe next time you want to practice use a beam that's lying flat on the ground."

"I guess that would limit the amount of injuries upon falling." Frank agreed.

"No shit." Lizza shortly replied before her attention was snapped up by another source. The high pitch whistle of the Hogwarts express could be heard in the distance and a faint trail of white smoke could be seen on the horizon. "We should be heading back to the common room. Everyone is going to be back soon."

"I suppose you're right." Frank said staring off in the direction of the Hogwarts express. "Good practice session today though. Man you're fast."

"Well I do own a Nimbus 2001." Lizza said pointing to her broom. "Of course I'd outpace you whilst you're on that cute little Clean Sweep.

"Seeing the brooms the rest of the team has I'm starting to think I need a new broom."

"It's how you use your broom that's more important. Catching slip steams and tail winds can give you the extra speed you need to catch up to someone with a faster broom. I use to do it all the time to keep pace with my Aunt's Firebolt."

"Jeez, is there anything you don't know about Quidditch?" Frank puzzled.

"Well my dad is a Quidditch coach." Lizza laughed. "He's been drumming plays into me for years."

Frank shook his head in response and the pair started to make their way back to the castle. The arrival of the Hogwarts express had signalled to the few students still left in the castle to head back to their houses. Lizza even spotted Melanie arguing with Raylea near the front of the school; she seemed to be hanging around a lot lately.

"So I've been thinking." Frank said finally breaking the silence during their walk back.

"That's a first." Lizza quipped.

"Okay I walked into that one." Frank conceded. "But in all seriousness when we get back to the Common Room I think I'm going to tell Sharps that you can have my spot in the next match."

"WHAT!?" Lizza screeched, spotting dead in her tracks.

"I didn't think it would be that surprising."

"But… you can't… that's your spot. You can't give it up…" Lizza hopelessly argued.

"If anything our practice sessions over the holidays has taught me Liz, is that you are a _WAY_ better Chaser than I am." Frank countered. "Plus you were the reason we won our last match!"

"But... you're a 2nd year… You can't give your spot up to someone under you; it's like an unwritten rule or something"

"How many times in the past 2 weeks have you use used the fact the you were in 2nd year for a few months to win an argument? Hell, we're even the same age."

"I…" Lizza had nothing. She knew Frank was right.

"Exactly." Frank confirmed. "Look I'm not giving you my spot because of some stupid noble reason or whatever; I'm giving you my spot because Hufflepuff stands a better chance of winning the cup with you on the team. And if that mean I have to give up my spot so we win, so be it. I'd even go so far as convincing Zander to loan you his broom again."

"You... you convinced Zander to make him give me his broom?" Lizza said astonished.

"Yeah, though Abbott helped too." Frank revelled. "So you going to play or what?"

"But don't you want to play?"

"Of course I want to play." Frank revealed. "But I want us to win the cup more."

"I don't know what to say." Lizza was boarder line speechless.

"Say you'll play." Frank grinned.

"Fine… but only if Sharps agrees." Lizza challenged.

Frank snorted at Lizza's remark. "He's probably been thinking of a way to get you onto the team for weeks."

Frank was right in his assessment. Nickolas and Liam where trying to think of any possible way to include Lizza on the team, her ability to get the team fired up from her flashy plays was why they wanted her so badly. They even went so far as asking Madam Hooch if each house could have 4 Chasers on the pitch instead of 3. Madam Hooch promptly shot them down in flames.

Needless to say when Frank made his suggestion to the Hufflepuff captain that Lizza should have his spot Nickolas snapped it up almost immediately.

The weeks leading up to the match were intense. The team was training non-stop to the point of exhaustion, Kaylean had actually fallen asleep in one of her classes at one point causing Professor Sprout to regrettably intervene and drop back the amount of practices per week.

The match grew ever closer, and once Ravenclaw's match with Gryffindor was over the realisation that the Hufflepuff vs Slytherin match would be over the cup, dawned on not only Lizza, but the entire team as well. Ravenclaw was currently in the lead with 540 points meaning that Hufflepuff not only had to win the match by catching the Snitch but also put away 5 goals with the Quaffle. To make matters worse Slytherin was sitting on 450 points so in addition to scoring Hufflepuff needed to keep Slytherin under 90 points for the match. The match was most certainly going to be a team effort.

"This is it…" Nickolas finally spoke to his team. The Hufflepuff Quidditch team had been sitting silently around the blackboard going through some last-minute plays before the final Quidditch match of the season.

"…Normally I don't give a speech before a game, usually just keep it short and sweat. But today… well… for some of us here it's our last chance for the cup," Everyone in the room looked at Kaylean, India and Broody. The expressions on their faces were obvious that wanted this win badly.

"At the start of the year I promised these three we would win the cup. And we are nearly at the point where I can keep that promise. Broody is the best Keeper this school has ever seen and although I fight with Kaylean and India a lot they have always had my back," Nickolas paused momentarily. It was almost as if he was about to cry. "We can't let them leave Hogwarts without holding the Quidditch cup at least once…"

Nick was becoming all shaky and Liam had to set forward and take over for him whilst he calmed himself down. "Stick to the game plan. We're up against Slytherin so they're going to foul. Let them. We use the inevitable penalty shots to score the 5 goals we need whilst we play our defensive game. With Lufkin in front of the hoops they don't stand a chance."

Liam passed the floor back to Nickolas who had finally calmed down to resume his speech. "You heard what Liam said, we play our game and we'll win… Okay, hands in Hufflepuff on three…"

"Actually, I'd like to say something." Everyone turned Broody who had passive look on his face. "Look I appreciate you guys dedicating this game to Myself, Kay and India but honestly… it's more than that,"

Broody took and a breath and paused for effect. "19 years… That's how long it's been since Hufflepuff has won the Quidditch cup… but that's not all… we have had 11 different players help us out this year. Juliet, Lucy, Robbie and Frank have all played their part to help us get to this match. We owe it to them to win… No, we all owe it to the entire house. Everyone who has cheered for us, everyone who body guarded us from the snakes and even the third years who made us the giant banner that will see out there…"

Broody looked at all of them dead in the eyes. Lizza felt like he was staring into her soul he was so determined. "We'll win because, we have to win."

"DAM STRAIGHT!" Nick roared, which for once actually fired everyone up. "Hufflepuff on three. One… two…"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

There was a definite tension in the air when Lizza and the rest of her team mates entered onto the pitch. It was nice to be playing a match with her own broom this time and although Zander's broom was amazing to fly, there was nothing quite like flying your own broom. It breathed a certain air of familiarity.

Whilst Lizza circled the pitch warming up, she spotted the giant banner of a Badger that some 3rd years had made, sitting behind the goals of the Hufflepuff end. She was so caught up in the admiring the banner, she didn't even notice one of the Slytherin Chasers, Gemma Selwyn, give her a quick bump as they flew past; sneering as she did so.

This match was going to be rough.

 **"** **THIS IS IT! The last Quidditch match of the season! HUFFLEPUFF VS SLYTHERIN! It's been an exciting year and some spectacular Quidditch has been played - Today's game is looking to be a good one! – For a bit of context Ravenclaw is in the lead for the cup on 540 points. So Slytherin will need 90 points to best them and Hufflepuff needs 190. - I'd keep carrying on but it looks like Madam Hooch is about to start the match."**

Madam Hooch's cautionary whistle drew all the players to the starting circle. Once all the players arrived she addressed all of the them at once.

"I know what's at stake for both teams today. But that is NO excuse to foul. AM I UNDERSTOOD?" Madam Hooch looked at each player individually, lingering slightly longer on the Slytherin players. Nobody answered her but Lizza could tell she was serious.

Madam Hooch kicked open the Quidditch ball case and the Bludgers plus Snitch shot straight up into the air. Lizza was practically twitching on her broom waiting for the second Madam Hooch released the Quaffle.

 **"** **Madam Hooch releases the Quaffle and Karoonda's on top of it almost immediately – she's got it under her arms and– THAT WAS FUCKING DELIBERATE!"**

Barely a second had passed and already Slytherin had started fouling. Finn Avery one of Sltherin's beaters had thrown his club at Lizza trying to prevent her from plucking the Quaffle out of the toss. Evidently Slytherin had predicted Lizza to go for the Quaffle from the onset.

In any other match Lizza would have been furious but after sharing a quick glance with Nickolas and Liam, Lizza remembered that Slytherin was playing right into their hands.

"Foul Avery!" Madam Hooch screeched. "Couldn't wait even a second could you Avery? Karoonda penalty."

Lizza received the Quaffle and made her way to the centre of the pitch to take her penalty shot. Nickolas flew behind her and whispered in her ear just before she took off.

"I think we should start the match with a bit of flare don't you?" Lizza grinned her response. She knew exactly what her Captain was referring too.

 **"** **Karoonda is lining up her penalty – YES! – Looks like she's pulling out all the stops early because here comes the Wollongong Shimmy! - She's Zig-Zagging down the pitch – she's about in range – AND SHE SCORES! - Hufflepuff with the first score of the match. – HEY KAROONDA! Stop showing off theirs a whole match to go yet! –** ** _What the?_** **\- You little TEASE!**

After Lizza had scored her penalty shot she stayed standing on her broom and angled around towards the Hufflepuff end waving her arms to get the crowd fired up. This was all part of the plan. At the start of the match Nickolas and Liam had told her that whenever possible to use her flashy moves to try and get the crowd fired up, figuring that if the crowd turned on Slytherin it would demoralise them, like what happened with Gryffindor a couple of months ago. Lizza was all too happy to agree.

She was passing the tower that Hayden Brown was commentating in when an idea hit her. Swallowing a little bit of her pride Lizza locked eyes with Hayden and then blew him a kiss before dropping back down to a sitting position. The laughter of the crowd soon followed and Lizza hoped that she hadn't gone too far.

"That was brilliant idea Liz." Kaylean laughed when once Lizza got back to her position in defence. "I have never seen Brown so flustered."

"You don't think it was too far?" Lizza questioned. "I mean it's not like I like him."

"Na Hayden's cool, I'm sure he thinks it was just showmanship or something." Kaylean giggled, "Keep up the good work, if you can somehow get Brown on side it'll be that much easier to demoralise the snakes."

And keep up the good work Lizza did.

Whenever one of the Hufflepuff's was fouled Lizza would use the opportunity granted by the penalty shot to show off a bit. By the 10 minute mark Lizza had scored twice and Kaylean once. India and Kaylean even tried to show off by attempting some behind the back shots, but sadly their accuracy suffered. So out of the 6 penalty shots Hufflepuff had been given they only managed to score from 3 of them, and to make matters worse, Slytherin had finally caught on to their strategy.

In what could only be described as an uncharacteristic display of discipline, somehow, the Slytherin team managed to pull themselves together and prevent themselves form fouling for the remainder of the match. Their captain Scipio Montague went so far as to throw his own bat at his team mates before they lost their cool and fouled.

 **"** **Slytherin with the Quaffle –Looanna Lockshift passes long to Gemma Selwyn – Karoonda goes for the intercept but misses by a hair –Selwyn in possession – She dodges a bludger and drops the Quaffle down to Whitehead – Whitehead evades – makes for the post, he's getting in real close! - He buddy bumps Lufkin and FLICKS IT THROUGH! The Score's Slytherin 40 to Hufflepuff's 30! – Whoa! - Lufkin is quick brining the Quaffle back into play already and passes to Summers – Lockshift going for the steal but Summers gets rid of it before their both cleaned up– BLOODY FANTASTIC INTERCEPT BY WHITEHEAD! – He's got the Quaffle again and is making a break for the goals – HOPKINS HITS RIGHT BACK WITH A STEAL! – That was fucking brilliant!"**

 **"** **Language Brown."**

 **"** **Didn't you see that steal!?"**

 **"** **Commentary Brown!"**

 **"** **Oh Right! - Hufflepuff's got the Quaffle. It's ahhh…. Summers - she darts around Avery's Bludger and passes to Karoonda – Karoonda dives shaking off her shadow in Selwyn – She angling back towards the pitch looking for a pass – And… THAT'S A TIME OUT!"**

Lizza ground to a halt looking up in disbelief at Nickolas who was holding his hands in the shape of a 'T' up towards madam Hooch.

"Hufflepuff time out! 5 minutes!" Madam Hooch yelled. She then fiddled with her watch to start the count down.

Lizza landed near her team and raced up to Nickolas, she was pissed. "WHAT THE HELL NICK! We had the momentum!"

"What gives Nick." India angrily accused. "I was in a prime position."

"I'm really sorry guys." Nickolas apologised. "I wouldn't have called the time out but just before I did I spotted the Snitch at the same time McKenzie did. She was within a couple of meters of it and Stump was at the opposite end of the pitch. I had no choice!"

As one, every member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team turned around and spied Aliyah McKenzie in the Slytherin huddle. Unlike the rest of her team who were in an animated discussion, Aliyah was looking up intently at a spot near the commentator's wing.

Zander Stump followed her gaze and immediately locked onto the Snitch, falling into the same trance as Aliyah.

"Crap." Lizza whispered.

"What are we going to do?" Kaylean fretted. "We still need 2 more goals before we can catch the Snitch."

"I'm open to suggestions." Nick hurriedly asked. The team rapidly broke down in what could be called a borderline argument, as their time out time rapidly diminished.

Thinking quietly to her self Lizza saw the two Bludgers race across the pitch as if they were having a race, and at that moment Lizza had an idea.

"A Double Up manoeuvre." Lizza half shouted.

"A 'Double Up'? You must be joking!" Liam said astonished.

A 'Double Up Manoeuvre' is an incredibly difficult Quidditch play which involves a team scoring twice in succession. When a teams Chaser scores, if the team is co-ordinated enough, a 2nd Chaser can slip behind the back of the goals and 'retrieve' the Quaffle before their opponents. The 'retrieving' Chaser can then throw the Quaffle back into the pitch and if caught by a fellow Chaser allows for a 2nd scoring opportunity.

What makes the play so hard is the 'Stooging' Foul. Chasers need to be incredibly fast and well-coordinated because the play requires all three Chasers to be in the scoring area at different times. If one Chaser enters the scoring area before their team mate leaves the area a foul is called; causing the team to lose possession and points they just scored.

"It's our only chance." Lizza earnestly replied. "Avery and Montague are going to be all over McKenzie covering her. So our best chance is to use the fact the Chasers are Beaterless to score twice."

"This is insane Liz. Double ups are normally only attempted by the best teams in the world. It's only been done at Hogwarts a handful of times."

"We can do it!" Lizza exclaimed. "I know we can."

"I'm all for optimism Liz, but we're not that good," Kaylean stated unsure of her own skill. "The risk of 'Stooging' is too high, plus we are a defensive team. You really think we can pull it off."

"Yes." Lizza said at once. "Slytherin won't know what hit them; they won't have planned to guard against this so we'll have the element of surprise. If we really need to we can pull Lufkin from the goals to back us up."

"That's crazy!" Nearly everyone said at once.

"If we don't pull it off we've lost anyway." Lizza reminded them. "But in the end it's Nick's decision."

"Not for something this big." Nick quickly said. "Votes quickly we're nearly out of time, yay or nay?"

Nick quickly pointed to everyone on the team one at a time. Lizza, Zander, and Nickolas voted 'Yay' whilst India, Kaylean and Liam voted 'Nay'. That left the deciding vote with Broody Lufkin.

"Your call Lufkin." Nickolas asked his team mate.

"We started with the theatrics might as well end with the theatrics. Yay." Lizza let out a small yip with Broody's vote leaving Nickolas to take charge.

"Karoonda you have possession so you take the first shot, use the Shimmy to make sure it lands. India you retrieve, Kaylean you land the game winner. Lufkin do what Karoonda suggested and back them up. Liam and I are going to be pressed thin protecting up Stump, so at the very least you can block for the girl's." Nickolas ordered before shaking his head. "This is either the best decision we've made all year or the worst… Let's go find out."

 **"** **Madam Hooch resumes plays and it's Karoonda with possession. -WHAT THE HELL!? – Stump and McKenzie rocket off the ground. Looks like during the time out they spotted the Snitch! – They both converge on the same locate… - KAROONDA'S SHIMMYING! – Looks like this is a war of two fronts! – Karoonda's lines up her shot whilst the Seekers engage in a deadly dance..."**

Lizza surfed her way towards the goals whilst dodging a tackle and steal attempt from Gemma Selywn. She spotted India edging around towards the back of the goals and she made eye contact with her at the last second. Tapping her left shoulder with her free hand to indicate which goal she was going to aim for, Lizza saw her team mate nod prompting her to accelerate into the scoring area.

 **"** **..Karoonda aims – she feints the right post and launches the Quaffle at the left – AND SCORES! – What! No way! -India retrieves the Quaffle before Whitehead can get a hand to it – MERLIN'S BALLS! They're going for a 'Double Up!' – India passes to Summers but Lockshift is looking to intercept – No! She's blocked by Lufkin!... Wait? LUFKIN!? What are you doing down there get back to your goal post! – Shit! Summer's got the Quaffle she shots! HUFFLEPUFF SCORE AGAIN! THEY PULLED OFF A DOUBLE UP!"**

The moment the Quaffle sailed through the goals everyone immediately turned their attention back down to the other end of the pitch where the Seekers and Beaters where in a deadly dance for the Snitch. The Snitch twisted and turned whilst Bludgers were constantly being hammered at both Seekers.

Lizza, the crowed and literally every other player on the pitch were silently watching to spectacle being played out in front of them.

 **"** **Stump and McKenzie make for the Snitch again but are scattered by a pair of Bludgers – Montague goes in looking for what suspiciously looks like an outright tackle - Liam moves to intercept and slams into Montague – OUCH! At least that landing's on grass! – It's one Beater and one Seeker a piece! – Avery gets into position and slams a Bludger at Stump – Sharp somehow gets his bat to the ball and deflects it slightly – The Bludger trails off and clips McKenzies broom – She's shaken up, but alright – Stump sees an opening he twists over McKenzie. And… HE'S GOT IT! STUMP HAS THE SNITCH! HUFFLEPUFF WINS THE QUIDDITCH CUP, HUFFLEPUFF WINS THE QUIDDITCH CUP!"**

The moment the Snitch was in Stumps hand the crowd exploded with cheers. Kaylean and India were leaning into each other on their brooms crying and Broody Lufkin had raced down to the other end of the pitch and tackled Zander off his broom. He was crying unabashedly as well.

Lizza still sat hovering over the Slytherin goals with a wide smile on her face taking in the atmosphere of the crowd and their achievement. Practically all of Hufflepuff house had jumped over the stands and onto the pitch by this point to congratulate the members of the team who were now on the ground.

Lizza didn't even see Kaylean race back up to her on her broom and tackle her with a hug. "Come join in with the celebration! Professor McGonagall is about to award the Cup!"

Kaylean dragged Lizza down out of the air and the moment Lizza's feet touched the ground she was swamped by Hufflepuffs all eager to thank her. Lizza spotted Amber and Casey as she was practically carried by members of her house to were Professor McGonagall was awaiting to award the Cup, they had looks of pure delight on their face.

But the real euphoria came when Kaylean, India and Broody lifted the Quidditch Cup above their heads in triumph. Lizza did get a chance to hold the cup but she waited until the older students were done. They had been waiting 7 years for this after all.

It took a full half an hour before Lizza and the rest of the team could detangle themselves from the crowd and make their way back to the change rooms. It took a very teary Professor Sprout and a slightly exasperated Professor McGonagall to make it happen.

"CONGRATULATIONS LIZ!"

Upon seeing her aunt with her friends Lizza immediately ran to them and flung her arms around her auntie's shoulders. "YOU CAME!"

"Of course I came! Someone had to be here, waiting to congratulate you when you won."

"We nearly didn't." Lizza remarked.

"There was never a doubt in my mind that you wouldn't win, especially after seeing what you and your team mates did out there today. A 'Double Up' whilst you're still in school! If I hadn't of seen it I wouldn't have believed it."

"You were awesome Liz!" Amber cheered.

"Yeah! Absolutely brilliant." Casey echoed.

"Thanks for pushing me sign up in the first place. If you two hadn't of convinced me to play 2 months ago I wouldn't be here." Lizza conveyed her thanks by pulling her friends into two massive hugs. "So where's dad?"

"I'm so sorry Liz, he couldn't make it. He's still at the hospital with your mum." Aunt Lucy sadly revelled.

"Oh." If there was one thing that could have taken the wind out of Lizza's jubilation, that was it. "I guess he didn't miss much."

"Cheer up Lizzy. He really wanted to come, but he couldn't leave your mum's side."

"How… How is mum?" Lizza asked uncertainly. She wasn't sure if she could take any more bad news right now.

"She's good actually. The healers finally figured out what was wrong with her."

"That's good." Lizza said hopefully. The news cheered her up a bit. "What was wrong with her?"

"Oh, nothing too serious. Turns out your little brother was just giving her a bit of grief."

"Huh?" Lizza asked terribly confused. "I don't have a brother?"

Amber and Casey's hands shoot to their mouths to stifle their gasps. Lizza's aunt on the other just had a devilish grin on her face. Lizza was incredibly confused.

Carefully, Lizza's Aunt pulled out a small photo and showed it to Lizza. There in the centre of the photo graph was her mum, in a bed, holding a baby. Her dad was in the picture too leaning over her mum protectively. Both looked incredibly exhausted, but they still had smiles on their faces. The words 'Meet your new Brother.' was scribbled along the bottom of the picture and suddenly everything made sense.

The raw emotions hit Lizza in full force and immediately she flung herself at her friends screaming at the top of her voice. "I'M A SISTER! I'M A SISTER!"

Lizza danced around her friends in circles whilst screaming her chant. The bemused faces of her friends all stared amusingly, but they let her have her moment. After all this was the best day of Lizza's life.


	20. Chapter 20: Friends and Enemies

**Chapter Twenty: Friends and Enemies**

Amber rubbed her wrist. It was nice to finally be rid of that annoying bell.

Frank was right; the things became unbearable after a few days. Amber supposed that was the reason Professor Hackle made them wear it for so long.

First year exams where right around the corner, and Amber was feeling extremely nervous. Part of the reason Professor Hackle had removed the bells, was because she was worried the constant jingle whenever the girl's moved their arm, would distract their classmates during their exams.

For the past few weeks, most of Amber's time in class was revising the material for their exams. Amber groaned when she found that not only would the Exams be written but also practical as well. She was known for notoriously hating practical tests.

"I'm so glad your back to being my potions partner." Amber quietly told Lizza. The pair were practising brewing their antidotes for common poisons. "CJ's great and all, but working alongside Noah is such a bore."

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to leave you alone." Lizza guiltily mumbled.

"Hey, I've forgiven you for that. You did come back after all."

Lizza sadly smiled in response. "Was working with Noah and CJ really that bad?"

"Oh my God! Yes!" Amber exclaimed. "I mean CJ was fine, but Noah can just be creepy. He kept trying to 'shhh' us all the time, but he was more than happy to pipe up if something was bugging him. He's such a hypocrite."

"That's weird; before I left he was always chatting with CJ during class."

"I know! CJ has been complaining about him ever since I partnered up with you again. It's becoming pain hear her complain about him to be honest."

Amber and Lizza stole a glance at Noah and Casey. Low and behold, Casey was trying desperately to communicate with her partner so that they could finish their potion. But typically, Noah kept snipping at her to shut up.

"What is Noah's problem?" Lizza remarked.

"No idea, maybe he's sick or something? He's always in the hospital wing every few weeks." Amber suggested.

By the end of the class, things had gotten worse between Casey and Noah, and for the first time ever, Amber saw her best friend slap someone.

"YOU LITTLE PRICK!" Casey screamed. Her hand landed across Noah's cheek with a crack, before she stormed out of the classroom. Amber and Lizza covered for her and gathered up her things, all the while a stunned Professor Slughorn tried to piece together what had happened.

"CJ! Are you alright?" Amber asked her friend. They had found her pacing back and forth in their dormitory.

"I'm fine!" Casey snapped.

"You don't look fine." Lizza replied.

"Come on CJ tell us what happened." Amber begged.

Casey continued to pace up and down the length of the dormitory. Her was hand clenched tightly around her wand, and she occasionally fired off a jinx at the wall to blow off some steam.

"You know what that prick Noah did?" Casey practically growled, once she calmed down enough to talk.

"No. That's why we're asking." Amber delicately reminded her.

"You remember the bet that Juliet and Lucy set up about me?"

"Yeah." Lizza and Amber replied together. Lizza had been quite thoroughly filled in about Casey's drama upon returning to Hogwarts.

"Well that slimy git Noah was the one who won the bet!"

"WHAT!?" Amber and Lizza both shouted.

"Yeah!" Casey fumed. "And you know what else! He tried to apologise to me after today's class by giving me his winnings. As if I would want _that_ money!"

Amber was shocked by this revelation. Noah had always so nice Casey, both before and after her coming out, even going as far as to stop Oakley and his band of merry idiots, from bugging her over the holidays. It seemed as if the closer to the end of the school year they got, the weirder their class mates became.

"Jeez what is with everyone lately? Amber whispered whilst she stared.

"What did you say Amber?" Lizza pried.

"Oh, I was just thinking how weird everyone has been lately. I mean Noah's being a creep, not to mention Bones and his… Baboons…"

"You've used baboons already." Casey reminded her.

"Neanderthals?" Casey nodded in agreement. "And his Neanderthals have practically stopped harassing us, and Melanie won't stop staring at us during class."

"Yeah what is up with Melanie?" Casey mused. "She's been all stalkery since Easter."

"Well we did save her life." Lizza mentioned.

"True. But I think there's more to it than that." Amber thought out loud. "We should go talk to her."

"You want to go to talk to a Slytherin? Do you have a death wish or something?" Casey warned. "Melanie and her friends hate us."

"I'm not so sure." Lizza said. "She hardly talks to any of her Slytherin friends anymore; even Raylea doesn't want to talk to her. Something about her hurting her cat."

"How do you even know that?" Amber asked.

"I saw them arguing on the way back from the Quidditch pitch, not long after Easter." Lizza answered.

"I'm surprised you didn't sell that rumour to Juliet." Casey half laughed.

"Kinda over all the rumours to be honest. Besides Juliet squawks more than a Cockatoo at 5 in the morning. The whole school would know by the end of the day, and I really don't want people coming up to me, asking if the rumour was true."

"I suppose that's fair." Amber laughed. "Juliet does squawk when she laughs."

The girl's laughed at their joke. They then switched their books around and headed down to the great hall for lunch. Lunch was peaceful right up until the point when students were getting up to leave for their next class.

In the rush of students leaving the Great Hall, Amber felt someone bump into her back, and push her into a fruit bowl. Unfortunately, neither Amber nor her friends noticed who it was.

"What is with people and pushing me into fruit bowls?" Amber hissed.

"It was probably just an accident." Casey offered.

"I don't think so CJ." Lizza leaned down and pulled a piece of parchment out of Amber's book bag.

"Where did that come from?" Amber asked.

"I don't know." Lizza said whilst examining the letter. "But it's addressed to us."

"Whatcha got there." Juliet pried, trying to sneak a look at whatever Lizza was holding.

"BUZZ OFF JULIET!" All three said at once. They were out of the Great Hall before Juliet could even offer a retort.

Once they were safely in a blind corridor. Lizza cautiously opened the note to see who wanted their attention.

* * *

 _McKinnon, Jands, and Karoonda._

 _We need to talk. Meet me down at the boat house tonight just before sunset. Come alone._

 _Mel._

* * *

"Shapell wants to talk to us?" Casey said uncertainly.

"I guess so," Lizza said surprised. "I mean it's obviously a trap. Does she seriously think we would go down their alone?"

"Maybe. I mean she isn't the smartest tool in the shed. Look at what happened over Easter."

Amber stood dumbfounded looking at the parchment, while Lizza and Casey talked about how stupid Melanie was. Amber was inclined to agree with them, but something… some feeling told her to hear Melanie out. She couldn't explain it, so she knew she would have a hard time convincing her two friends to come with her.

"I think we should go." Amber said to her friends.

"Well thank you for that opinion, miss bad idea of the century." Casey snapped.

"Do you like getting detentions or something?" Lizza asked. "We only got those dam bells off this morning."

"Well no. But I don't think Shapell wants to hurt us." Amber replied. "I've got this feeling, that we need to talk to her."

"You got a feeling?" Lizza spat. "That's mighty helpful, it's the dam bathroom fiasco all over again."

"I had a feeling about that as well! You were there! You know I was right!"

"She's got a point. She was right about the corridor." Amber was surprised that Casey was defending her in all of this. From the look on Casey's face, she'd say Casey was too.

"Not you too!" Lizza whined. "You're supposed to be the sensible one."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm sceptical as all hell. But I've been around Amber long enough to know, that her gut feelings have a tendency to be right."

"You both can't be serious." Lizza said shocked. "You're not going to go, are you?"

"Liz," Casey said deadpan. "This is Amber we're talking about… when have we _ever_ , been able to change her mind?"

"I… But… FINE!" Lizza yelled giving up. She then turned her attention back on Amber. "But if I'm right about Melanie, I'm going to Jinx you back to Canada!"

The girl's meandered through the last of their classes with anticipation. During History of Magic, the only thing all three of them could do was sneak glances at Melanie, wondering what she had in store for them. Melanie awkwardly returned them. The school day couldn't have ended soon enough, and once they had finished dinner, the trio headed down towards the boat house.

During their walk down, Amber noticed Casey had a far off look in her eye. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." Casey whispered. "Last time I was here… I was a boy."

"No, you were a girl last time too." Amber smiled back. "You just looked a bit different."

"Thanks Amber." Casey smiled back to her friend.

"I think we should hide." Lizza mentioned, once they had come within a few meters of the boat house. "You know, just in case it's a trap."

Amber would have normally countered, but she knew Lizza was feeling mighty uncomfortable about coming down here. So she just nodded, and allowed Lizza to find a hiding spot next to the steps. The girls waited for their adversary while staring out onto the lake. The last golden rays were disappearing over the horizon, when footsteps, could be heard coming down the path.

The lone figure of Melanie Shapell, solemnly walked towards them unawares, and then proceeded towards the boat house. Lizza motioned for them to stay in their hiding spot, just in case the Slytherin girl had more friends coming. But no one else came.

Melanie looked around the boat house, spent 5 minutes waiting, sighed deeply, and then made her way back up towards the castle. Amber nearly let Lizza keep her hidden, but curiosity got the better of her, so Amber stepped out of her hiding place; moderately startling Melanie.

"I… I thought you wouldn't come…" Melanie mumbled.

"Well I came." Amber snipped. She didn't want to sound angry or mad, but her past experiences with Melanie, had put her on edge.

"Is Jands and Karoonda here?" Melanie asked. As if on cue, Casey and Lizza stepped out of the hiding place, with their wands drawn. Clearly, they didn't trust Melanie, any more than Amber did.

"Well we're all here." Amber asserted. "Talk."

"I… Honestly… I've been working up the courage to do this for a month but now that I'm here I don't know what to say."

"Well you better think of something Melanie." Lizza snapped. "We don't have all day, or in case you've forgotten we got detention the last time you were with us. In fact every time you've been around us one of us has gotten detention."

"Sorry about that… I guess I was being a bit bitchy."

"Bitchy doesn't begin to cover half of what you are." Lizza snapped again. Melanie recoiled but surprisingly she didn't bite back at Lizza's comment.

"Is that all you have to say to us?" Amber interjected. "To say sorry for being bitchy?"

"N...no… I actually wrote down a list of things I wanted to say, but I um, left it back in the Common Room."

"Of course you did." Amber rolled her eyes.

"No truly I did!" Melanie blurted. "I wanted to apologise for things I've done. Like… Um… Like calling CJ a Mudblood and a freak for instance."

For the first time in the conversation Casey winced. Amber was giving her a comforting hug within seconds. Casey had more or less been silent up until this point, but she steeled herself and stepped forward to address the bully that had given her arguably the most grief.

"You know trying to apologise whilst using the words you used to offend me isn't a good way of going about it." Casey said as evenly as she could.

"S… Sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Well, YOU DID!" Casey shouted. "Do you have any idea what it's like to walk down a corridor and have people gossip about you just because you different? For people to pick on you and jinx you because they assume your rotten and gross? Because to them they believe you shouldn't be allowed to live in this world? DO YOU!?"

"Yes I do." Melanie whispered, ever so softly. "My dad was a Death Eater."

Amber, Casey and Lizza were floored. They knew that not every Slytherin was a Death Eater; Professor Slughorn was the first one to point this out once after they came back from a particularly heavy History of Magic. Even Professor Slughorn himself was proof that there were good Slytherin's, having duelled Lord Voldemort himself.

"Then... Then Why?" Casey forced through some sobs. "Why would you be so horrible to us?"

"I don't know… It's all I've ever known…" Melanie said ashamed. "I was always taught that Slytherin's were strong, and that all the other houses were weak. But after Easter… I began to question that."

"Took you long enough." Amber spat. She was still trying to comfort Casey was crying angrily.

"I know I should have seen it sooner but I…" Melanie's sentence abruptly ended when a low primal howl was heard in the distance. Melanie let out a shrill scream and covered her ears with her hands.

"You're not scared of a werewolf are you?" Lizza taunted. "You know the rumours about werewolf's living in the Forbidden Forest are fake right?"

"That… That sure sounded real!" Melanie slightly panicked. "We should head back to the castle."

"Yeah right," Lizza snorted. "It's not even a full moon tonight how could it possibly be a werewolf?"

"But what if it is?" Melanie snapped back. "We should head bac…"

Melanie's sentence trailed off, and very slowly, she started taking steps backward. Her eyes were wide with fear, staring at something behind Amber and her friends.

Slowly Amber, Casey and Lizza turned around and were greeted by the hulking form of a Werewolf.


	21. Chapter 21: Remnant Pendant

**Chapter Twenty-One: Remnant Pendant**

The Werewolf continued to stalk towards the group of girls. Sizing them up as if it was deciding which one of them it wanted to eat first. Its gnashing teeth gleamed in the moonlight and its muscles were clearly enough, that if it wanted to, could quite easily throw one of the girls over its head. But the scariest part of this particular Werewolf, was the ominous glowing white pendant hanging around its neck.

Its growls deepened and Lizza, who already had her wand out, sent a curse flying at the werewolf. _"Everte Statum!"_

The snap of Lizza's spell cast, followed by the snap of it connecting with Werewolf's face, sent shivers down Amber's spine. Lizza's spell had all of the effect of a slap to the face. Which notably also carried the effect of pissing the wolf off.

The wolf howled and charged at the girls, who all immediately turned around running, heading straight for the entrance to the Boat House. Amber all but dived into the room, just as Melanie slammed the solid oak door closed.

Melanie pointed her wand at the door after slamming it closed. _"Colloportus!"_

The Oaken door began to quickly strain under pressure of a werewolf; even though Melanie had increased its strength with a sealing charm.

"That won't hold it for long!" Melanie panicked. "What are we going to do?"

"What are we going to do!?" Lizza angrily accused. "How about you call off your friend out there!"

"You think this my doing!?" Melanie screamed back.

"OF COURSE! Who else other than a _Slytherin_ would set a trap like this!?"

Melanie stepped back in shock. "In case you haven't noticed it's trying to get me as well!"

A loud a groan yearned from the door. The wood buckled, and the door was starting to come off its hinges. Amber could see the snapping jaws of the predator through the gap.

"We don't have time to argue!" Amber said earnestly. "If that thing gets in here we're _all_ screwed."

"Then what do we do then!?" Casey fretted. "It's not like we can just climb up a ladder, and get away like we did last time."

"THAT'S IT!" Amber exclaimed. The memories from Easter rushed back to her, and the feeling in her gut twisted around, "It's wearing the same Pendant as that cat from Easter. We just have to get the Pendant off its neck!"

"Removing a piece of jewellery isn't going to stop a werewolf." Casey countered.

"There's no full moon tonight. That Pendant has to be why it's transformed. I just know it!"

"Are we seriously going to pin all of our hopes on Amber's gut feeling?" Lizza argued.

The banging on the door intensified making the girl's scream and shrink back. The door was seconds away from being broken in.

"No time to argue!" Casey yelled.

The girl's lined themselves up as far away from the door as they could. Their wands at the ready for the inevitable.

"What _are_ we going to do once we stun it?" Lizza asked quickly.

"If you can keep it still for a few seconds I can cut the pendant off it." Melanie offered.

"And now where trusting a Slytherin?"

"I don't think we have a choice." Amber said.

No sooner had the door been smashed apart, each of the girls, fired off the best spell in their arsenal, at the approaching werewolf.

 _"Everte Statum!"_

 _"Flippedo!"_

 _"Locomotor Wibbly!"_

 _"Impedimenta!"_

4 jets of magic shot out from the girl's wands and slammed into the Werewolf. The combination of their spells, knocked the Werewolf onto its backside, and dazed it momentarily. Not wasting the opportunity hard bought, Melanie took one step forward, and hurled her wand at the Werewolf.

 _"Gladifors!"_

The second Melanie's wand left her hand, her wand slowly morphed into a knife. It sailed through the air, and cleanly severed the cord holding the pendant to the Werewolf's neck. The moment the pendant fell away from the wolf's body, it started to transform back into its human form.

The girl's gasped, stepping back in shock, as they recognised who the werewolf turned back into.

"NOAH!?" Casey gasped.

Noah, barely conscious of what was happening around him, didn't even hear Casey's words. He was too busy scrambling on his knees, for the Pendant, which now lay haphazardly a foot away.

 _"Repello!"_

Lizza with her usual lightning fast reflexes, casted her spell on the pendant, just as Noah was about to get a hand to it. The pendant then zoomed away from Noah, and slid across the floor into the corner of the boat house.

"I... I need it." Noah said earnestly, trying to bring himself to his feet and go after the Pendant.

A swift 'Jelly Legs curse' by Casey sent Noah to the ground and Amber, with Lizza's help, tried to restrain Noah from moving toward the corner. Noah's strength was not his own, and even two on one, he managed to push both girl's away to continue his desperate crawl to the corner.

 _"Immobilus!"_

Professor Hackle entered the boat house, and immediately put Noah under a 'Freezing charm'. The action had startled the girl's so much, that they had already started to raise their wands at the new occupant unawares.

But the action was moot.

 _"Expelliarmus!_ "

Not a second after Professor Hackle had entered the room, 3 'Disarming charms' shot out from Professors McGonagall, Zulander and Sprout's wands; disarming the young witches who still had their own.

"I suggest you think very carefully before you start explaining this mess." Professor McGonagall cautioned, each student was currently being covered by a teacher. The girls took the moment to catch their breaths before they started talking.

"We were talking to Melanie out the front of the boat house when out of nowhere Noah came and attacked us." Amber supplied. "HE'S A WEREWOLF!"

"Yes, we are quite aware of Mr Abanel's… condition." Professor McGonagall began. "It's being closely monitored by all the staff."

"Seriously?" Lizza said surprised.

"Yes of course." Professor McGonagall answered. "Do you think Mr Abanel is the first werewolf to attend Hogwarts?"

"I… I didn't know that there were Werewolves at Hogwarts." Lizza said earnestly.

"There hasn't been many, though I will admit." Professor McGonagall continued. "We don't generally publicise when there is one at the Castle. It tends to make parents nervous."

"That makes sense." Casey said. "I wouldn't want anyone at school to know if I was a werewolf."

Professor McGonagall nodded in response. "Now perhaps you can now explain what is going on."

"Like Amber said we were talking and then Noah attacked us."

"Then maybe we need to hear Mr Abanel's account on things."

 _"NO!"_ All the girl's shouted as soon as Professor McGonagall finished her statement.

But it was too late.

Once the Headmistress dispelled the 'Freezing charm', Noah scrambled to his feet and rushed across the room like he was possessed.

 _"Petrificus Totalus."_

Professor Zulander proved his worth as a Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, and immediately put Noah in a 'Full Body Bind curse'. Nosh fell to the ground like a tree hewn for lumber.

"That was unexpected." Professor Zulander gloomily commented. "Any reason why he's acting like a crazed maniac?"

"It's the Pendant!" Amber quickly stammered, pointing to the corner. "He wants it!"

Professor Zulander cautiously walked over to the corner and examined the Pendant that lay there. He then levitated the object to his eye level to examine.

"Definitely Dark." Professor Zulander twirled the pendant around in the air with his wand. He stared at the object intently, but dared not touch it. "I'd say it's probably bewitched with a powerful compulsion charm, if it's causing Abanel to act like that. If I was to take a guess I'd say that it has a moon stone in it. Rumour has it that the Dark Lord was experimenting with them to create an amulet of sorts. Suppose to make a werewolf's transformation permanent."

"Impossible." Professor Hackle uttered.

"Proof is in the pudding." Professor Zulander pointed to the pendant. He then conjured a bag and dropped the cursed object into it. "Doubt I can break the Curse on the pendant, but with a bit of help, I think we can end the 'Compulsion charm' on Mr Abanel."

Professor McGonagall agreed and together all of the teachers pointed their wands at Noah.

 _"Finte Incantatem, Finato Duri."_

The moment the Professor's spells sprung forth, Noah rolled onto his front as if he was just punched in the stomach, gasping for air.

"Glad to see you are still with us Mr Abanel. Are you alright?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Noah meekly nodded his response but didn't look the Headmistress in the eyes.

"Are you able to tell us what happened here?"

Noah nodded meekly again, unsure of where to begin. "I… I didn't mean it."

"Be that as it may. I still require an explanation Mr Abanel." Professor McGonagall was bearing her gaze into Noah. With decades of teaching experience, Noah broke in seconds.

"The Pendant made me… I wanted it so bad. I couldn't resist it… I'm, I'm sorry." Noah sobbed. The ordeal finally brought him and tears. Amber couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Please continue Mr Abanel." Professor McGonagall ordered as delicately as she could.

"I found it… Near the Pumpkin patch… I tried to retrieve it but I got burnt. It wasn't until after Professor Sprout and Professor Longbottom removed the Vines that I went back down to get it… I didn't want to do it, but it was _too_ hard to resist." Noah's body was now shacking as he retold his story. Everyone could feel the fear that radiated from him. "Once I had the pendant I didn't know what to do with it. I had the smart sense to grab it using the end of my scarf but I still wanted to put it on so badly. So I compromised with myself. Told myself that I'd see what it did first before I tried it on. So I… So I stole Raylea's Travers cat. I figured no one would care if I stole hers; her whole family are Death Eaters after all."

All of the Professor's in the room visibly winced at the last admission. Disappointment was etched onto their faces.

"I… Know I shouldn't off done it… but I had no choice, I needed to know! But… But once I got Melanie's cat and put the pendant on it… it went berserk and attacked me. I wanted, No, I _needed_ to find out what it did, so I kept coming back. Kept going back to the 2nd floor where the cat was hiding out and tried and capture it. To try and get the Pendant back." Noah rubbed the scratches on his arms; they were scarred now, just like bite mark Amber could see on his back.

"Then… One night, I found the cat knocked out, so I quickly grabbed the Pendant and ran… I tried to hand it in, honest… But it was difficult. It kept pulling at me, kept preventing me from doing it." Noah looked into Professor McGonagall's eyes, almost as if he was begging her to believe him. "Please Professor, _PLEASE!_ I swear I tried to hand it in. I tried _SO_ hard."

Professor McGonagall tried to keep as straighter face as she could but Amber could start to see the cracks in her expression, she was distressed. All the Professors were distressed.

"What happened tonight Mr Abanel?" Professor McGonagall had tried to say it calmly, but her voice hinted that she already knew the answer to her question.

"I was trying to make up for all of the other stupid things I had done wrong this year, as penance for the stuff with the pendant… but when I tried to apologise to CJ… she... she slapped me, and then I… I just gave up." Noah's head was hung down in shame. His eyes were listless and cloudy. "Earlier tonight I went down into the grounds and put on the pendant. And well… You know what happened after that."

Amber stole a look at Casey. She was slumped to the side and had tears forming in her eyes. It didn't take a mind reader to know what she was thinking.

"It's not your fault." Amber whispered.

Casey nodded uncertainly. "It sure feels like it though."

"Words cannot explain how disappointed I am with your actions Mr Abanel." Professor McGonagall was struggling to even figure out what to say. "You are lucky to be alive."

Noah shamefully nodded.

"100 points from Ravenclaw for starters, and detention for the rest of the year. Not that any of these punishments will even come close to atone for what you have done. You nearly released an evil upon this school that I hoped; would never have to be seen again." Professor McGonagall scolded. She shook her head before turning to Professor Zulander. "Warick could you please take Mr Abanel to the hospital wing? I would like Madam Pomfrey to look at those injuries."

"Of course. Time to go Abanel." Professor Zulander grabbed Noah firmly, but caringly, by the arm, and proceeded to lead him back up to the Castle. Professor McGonagall watched them get halfway up the stairs before she turned back to Amber and the rest of the girl's.

"You 4 are starting to remind me of a trio of students that I taught not 10 years ago. They too had a tendency to find themselves in the epicentre of all the trouble that happened at this school… I pray that you girl's do not turn out the same."

"Who were they?" Casey asked quietly.

"I think you should consult your _History of Magic_ text books if you are unsure of whom I am referring." Professor McGonagall rubbed her temples with her fore fingers. "I think I'm getting a headache."

"Go back up to the Castle Minerva. Have a nice long bath." Professor Sprout soothed. "Annabelle and I will deal with these four."

Professor McGonagall agreed and wearily made her way back up to the Castle, muttering something about: "One quite year, that's all I ask."

"I hope you 4 understand how lucky you are to walk away from this?" Professor Sprout began. "I'm not sure how well even Potter and his friends would have managed this in their first year."

Amber, Casey, Lizza, and Melanie blushed at Professor Sprouts complement. It was high praise to be compared to the famous Harry Potter.

"That said," Professor Hackle taking over. "Taking on a Werewolf - even a teenage one - was incredibly foolish and dangerous. One of you could have died or even worse, be turned into one yourself. I think 20 points from each of you, should remind you of how serious this is."

Amber looked down at her feet crest fallen. She hated losing points for Hufflepuff, she always felt she was betraying her friends when it happened.

"However…" Professor Hackle continued. "The team work and quick thinking that you all displayed in this encounter was remarkable. To deuce what was wrong with Mr Abanel and then find a way to combat it at your age is incredibly impressive. I think 50 points to each of you is fair; don't you think Pomona."

"Quite fair." Professor Sprout agreed. "In fact I think I'll through in an extra 10 points for the tolerance you displayed in dealing with Noah's condition."

Amber and her friends were stunned. 60 Points each! That would be 120 points to Hufflepuff after you counted the 60 points they just lost.

"Congratulations." Melanie mumbled.

"That's 60 points to you as well Miss Shapell." Professor Hackle confirmed. The stunned look on Melanie's face was priceless.

"What… really?"

"Of course." Professor Hackle lightly smiled. "You swallowed your pride, and worked alongside your classmates to help them deal with this problem. Plus that knife throw you made, was worth 10 points in and of itself."

"I… I don't what to say." Melanie stammered.

"You don't have to say anything Miss Shapell." Professor Sprout informed. "Your actions speak for themselves."

"Indeed." Professor Hackle agreed. "I think It's time for you 4 to head back up to the Castle. You all look exhausted right now and Exams will be starting next week, so I advise you to go get some sleep."

The girls tiredly agreed. Then mention of sleep seemed to suck the last remnants of energy out of them. Amber was looking forward to curling up in her bed.


	22. Chapter 22: Homeward Bound

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Homeward bound**

By the end of the next day entire school knew about what happened down at the boat house. Amber, Casey, and Lizza hardly had a moment to scratch themselves, let alone study. In the end the trio barricaded themselves in their dormitory; quite literally in fact, as Lizza levitated a dresser to block the door.

Where Amber and her friends were moderately able to escape the curiosity of prying teens, Noah and Melanie were not. Melanie was hounded day and night about what happened and ended up taking sanctuary in Professor Slughorn's office where possible. Under the pretence of undergoing private study with the Professor.

Noah meanwhile couldn't be more of a social outcast. Everyone gave the boy a wide berth whenever he was near, and cruelly gossiped about him when his back was turned. Although nobody dared to do so when a teacher was present; which as it happens was most of the time.

Even with vaunted Hogwarts rumour mill spreading the news of that fateful night, far and wide. Somehow, in all of the madness, Amber managed to pass all of her exams.

"I can't believe I passed Charms." Amber exhaled as she stuffed her clothes into her trunk. Amber and her friends were getting a head start on their packing. The Hogwarts Express would be here first thing tomorrow morning and they didn't want to leave it until the last minute.

"There was no way you were going to fail Amber." Casey said exuberantly. "You have some of the highest marks in the year."

"In the written exams maybe, but I nearly failed the practical. Didn't you see what happened to my pineapple?"

"Well you did make it dance." Casey giggled.

"If you call an elephant waltz a dance." Lizza laughed.

"It wasn't that bad…" Amber huffed.

"Amber your Pineapple bounced around the room like a Roo with its tail on fire." Lizza reminded them.

"And _then_ knocked Professor Flitwick off his desk!" Casey continued on from Lizza, all the while laughing.

Amber picked up to two pillows, and threw them at her friends who were laughing hysterically. "What about you Miss, 'set her cauldron on fire'!"

"Yeah…" Casey awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. "That was kind of Noah's fault."

"What did he do?"

"He wasn't really with it, kept forgetting things and dropping stuff. Honestly I think he's still upset about happened at the boat house. He was mumbling apologies to me throughout our exam."

"Why are you even still his potions partner?" Amber asked curiously.

"Well someone has to be." Casey replied. "I mean it's not like he's a bad person."

"He tried to kill us in case you had forgotten." Lizza rebutted.

"I know but that wasn't exactly his fault. Remember what Professor Zulander told us about the pendant. 'Werewolves find it almost impossible to resist it'. It's not like Noah asked to be a werewolf."

"I guess that's true, it probably hasn't helped that everyone knows his secret now too." Amber mumbled.

"Yeah… I guess that's a part of the reason why I still work with him." Casey sadly replied. "When everyone found out about my secret I had both of you to help me through it. Noah doesn't really have anyone like that right now."

"You're a good person CJ." Amber smiled to her friend.

"Thanks." Casey replied. "What about you two though, how did you go in your potions Exam?"

"Nailed it!" Lizza cheered, and high fived Amber. "We got an 'O'."

"Awesome! That means we all got one." Casey said excitedly.

"Expect for Liz." Amber replied. "She got two."

"Flying." Lizza said nonchalantly. "Not that surprising really."

"I guess not." Casey laughed. "I'm surprised you passed your flying Exam Amber."

"Well I have Liz to thank for that." Amber blushed. "If she didn't help me practice, I wouldn't have."

"What did you score for your Flying exam Liz?" Casey asked.

"An 'O', I thought we established this." Lizza said confused.

"No. I mean what percentage did you score?"

"Oh, one hundred and five percent. Why do you want to know?"

A massive smirk enveloped Casey face, she then reached behind her and pulled out her exam results, handing it to Liz.

"You twat." Lizza joked. "Your Transfiguration score only beat my Flying one by two percent."

Amber laughed at her friend's antics and the group returned to their packing. They were halfway through their task when a knock rapt along their dormitory door.

"Come in." Amber curiously shouted, to find Professor Hackle step into the room.

"Good afternoon girls." Professor Hackle announced. "I see you all are getting a head start on your packing."

"After making the mistake of leaving it to the last minute over Christmas, we decided to get it done early this time." Amber revelled.

"Yes, one does to tend only make that mistake once." Professor Hackle lightly chuckled.

"Is there anything we can do for you Professor?" Casey asked.

"Yes, I was wondering if I could speak to Amber alone for a moment."

Casey and Lizza looked at each other before turning to leave the dormitory. "We'll just be out in the Common Room."

Professor Hackle lingered around the room, whilst Amber awkwardly stood in front of her trunk that still lied half packed.

"You know…" Professor Hackle lightly started. "Saffron, your Mum, and I made the mistake in our 1st year of leaving our packing until the last minute. Your Mum in her rush forgot to back pack her underwear and left it at Hogwarts over the break."

Amber broke out in a fit of laughter. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. But that wasn't all; Saffron thought it was so hilarious, that she laughed at your mum for the entire ride back to London. Only she didn't realise until after she unpacked her trunk at home, that she had left her wand at Hogwarts. We never did let her live that down."

Amber doubled over in laughter. Professor Hackle certainly had a way of breaking the ice.

Professor Hackle smiled at Amber. "I'm glad you enjoyed that story."

"I'm _so_ going to so going to use that next time Saffron teases me." Amber giggled.

"I think maybe keep it just between us for now." Professor Hackle winked. "Tell me, how did you go in your Exams?"

"I did alright. I passed everything so that's a relief. Me and Liz even got an 'O' in Potions."

"That's wonderful to hear Amber." Professor Hackle praised. "Your mum would be proud of you."

Amber sadly smiled at the mention of her mum. "How did my mum go in her first year exams?"

"She passed, I remember that much." Professor Hackle mused. "Ruby was an average student. It was only 'Charms' that she actually excelled at, in fact now that I think about it, all 3 of us were good at Charms. Even my brother and Xavier were good at it… I guess that's why we made the Spyglass."

"My mum was good at Charms?" Amber queried. "I just assumed that since I was horrible at it I inherited it from her."

"We don't inherit everything about our parents. And If I'm bold enough to say you inherited much more important things from your mum than her magical ability. Like her big heart and her unwavering loyalty." Amber blushed at the Professor's complement. "I meant what I said when we first met Amber. If you have any questions I am more than happy to answer them."

Amber thought for a moment about what else she wanted to ask the Professor. She scoured the corners of her mind looking for question she wanted answered about her mum, but in the end she realised she didn't want to know.

Details like the one Professor Hackle had just given her had been slowly revealed to her throughout the year. She liked finding out like that. To have bits of her mum's life come to her over time, so she could enjoy each one individually, instead of being overloaded by them in one big discussion. But as Amber thought about this there was one question she wanted the answer to.

"Um, I do have one question." Amber asked. "Although, it's not about my mum."

"That's quite alright. What is that you wanted to ask me?"

"How did you find us that day?" Amber asked.

"Ah..." Professor Hackle said shortly "I think you already know the answer to that question Amber."

Professor Hackle reached into her robes, and withdrew a golden spyglass, one that Amber was all too familiar with.

"The Spyglass, of course." Amber groaned.

"Yes. I had a feeling that once you and your friends had the silver bells removed you would… shall we say, get into some trouble."

"We didn't exactly go looking for it this time though." Amber pouted. "It came and found us."

"I'm not angry at you Amber, just a little disappointed that you didn't tell someone where you were going. You were lucky that I overheard Miss Nightshade talking about how you had received a love letter."

"Ergh, it wasn't a love letter," Amber spat, "I swear Juliet's mouth is going to get her into trouble one of these days."

"You speak as if hasn't." Professor Hackle chuckled. "Fortunately, I had the good sense to keep an eye on you once I heard that rumour. I spotted Noah in his… Transformed state… heading down towards the boat house. I immediately gathered a few teachers and headed down there myself."

"I'm glad you took the Spyglass off me then." Amber admitted. "I'm not sure what would have happened if you hadn't of shown up. Noah was really scary."

Both Amber and Professor hackle fell into silence, until Professor Hackle sigh deeply, and whisper to herself. "I can't believe I'm going to do this."

"Professor?"

"Against my better judgement I'm going to give this back to you." Amber's eye's bugged out of her head; Professor Hackle was offering her Mum's spy glass back to her.

"W…Why?"

"I don't think it's right to take away something that was so special to Ruby, away from you." Professor Hackle smiled sadly to Amber. "With what you and your friends have gone through this year, I think you will have need of it in the future…and… If you mum was here, I believe she would be the first one to suggest passing this Spyglass down to you. You have no idea how many times this Spyglass prevented us getting into some sort of trouble, and I'm hoping, that it will offer the same protection to you."

A complex conversation passed between them with nothing but eye contact, and Amber at that moment, realised how much her Mum meant to the Professor.

Just like how Amber, Casey, and Lizza lived together in the same dormitory. Amber realised her Mum, Saffron and Professor Hackle had too; their bond was akin to sisters. No wonder Professor Hackle was so fond of her. She probably thought of Amber as her Niece.

"Giving this Spyglass back to you though Amber, comes with a promise." Professor Hackle finally placed the Spyglass back in Amber's hand whilst holding the other end. "You have to promise me that you won't go around and abuse the privilege it offers. If I catch you misbehaving with this again, it'll be more than the Spyglass you'll be losing."

"Yes Professor, I promise." And with her word Professor Hackle let go of the Spy Glass, returning the heirloom back to Amber.

"Good, now finish packing. The feast will be starting soon."

Professor Hackle bade Amber farewell with a hug, and left her to finish her packing. As soon as Amber had closed the lid of her trunk, time seemed to speed up. Before Amber realised it, the leaving feast was over, a good night sleep had been had, and she was sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express; chatting with Casey and Lizza.

"I can't believe Gryffindor won the House Cup!" Case complained. "We were so close. A messily 20 points and we would have had it."

"Kind of puts into perspective all the stuff we did wrong this year." Lizza mentioned. "If we hadn't of duelled Melanie, snuck around the castle at night, or if Amber hadn't of did what she did in Herbology we would have won."

"Yeah," Amber mourned. "How many points did we lose between the 3 of us?"

"250 I think." Casey's hand twitched in the air as she countered to herself. "If my maths correct of course."

"We lost 250! Really!?" Amber gaped.

"I think so…. there was the 85 from Professor Hackle when Melanie attacked us. The 5 because I was late. The 60 from Amber's fight in Herbology/DADA class. The 10 from Lizza defending my honour and the 90 from when we snuck around the castle."

"Actually it's 300 points." Lizza said sheepishly. "You forgot the 50 points I lost when I came back."

"You lost 50 points when you came back?" Amber asked.

"Yeah, sorry." Lizza apologised. "It was for some stuff I did at Watarrka; Professor Spencer made Professor McGonagall carry it over to Hogwarts."

"That sucks, how come we didn't hear about?" Casey asked.

"Professor McGonagall didn't want me to start off on the wrong foot, so she slowly deducted it over time, so no one would notice."

"That was pretty nice of her." Casey remarked.

"So between the 3 of us we lost 300 points, how many did we win?" Amber asked.

"Are we counting my Quidditch wins?" Lizza asked uncertainly.

"Sure!" Amber said cheerily. "You were the reason that we won."

"Okay so Liz's two games is 100 points, plus the 120 points from the thing with Noah is what. 220. How many points do you two get in classes? I know I got 11."

"I earned 29." Amber happily revealed.

"Just 15 for me." Lizza replied.

"So that's…" Casey counting in her head before deflating. "…275 points."

"So if…" Amber prompted.

"If we didn't muck around as much as we did we would have won the House Cup."

"Kind of makes you realise how Noah's feeling right now." Lizza remarked.

"Yeah… poor guy. Ravenclaw was what, only 30 points behind Gryffindor?"

"Around that." Casey confirmed.

"I reckon Melanie is feeling the same way right about now… She lost Slytherin a lot of points as well." Amber mentioned.

"So the moral of the story is what? Don't do stupid shit?" Lizza theorised.

Amber and Casey tried to contain their laughter, but failed miserably, braking down into a bit of giggles. Whilst they were laughing their heads off Melanie knocked lightly on their compartment door.

"It's Melanie?" Amber said astonished. Melanie Shapell was awkwardly standing out in the corridor waiting to be let in. "Should we let her in?"

"Casey gave Noah a 2nd chance. Seems only fair we give one to Melanie." Lizza said off handily.

"Alright…" Amber uncertainly replied and opened the compartment door.

"Thanks." Melanie said, stepping into the compartment.

"What do you want?" Amber asked, somehow keeping all of her hostility out of her voice.

"I um… wanted to apologise… properly this time." Melanie squeaked. This earned an eyebrow raise from Casey and Lizza.

"Okay… We're listening." Casey said.

Taking a deep breath Melanie reached into her back pocket and withdrew and small green notebook, no bigger than her hand, and quickly flicked through it. Once she was done, she steeled herself looked and Lizza square in the eyes.

"Lizza, I... I'm sorry calling for you all of those horrific slurs. After I looked them up, I realised just how out of line I was. I didn't realise how insensitive it was to call you something like after what your people had to go through. I'm sorry you had to endure it."

Lizza's mouth opened and closed a few times but nothing came out, she was speechless. Melanie took another quick glance at her notebook and then turned her attention to Amber.

"Amber. I… I haven't hurt you that much physically, but my words have probably cut deeper than me cursing you ever would. That stupid nickname I came up with was cruel. Because of me it's probably going to cause you pain long after I have apologised, as people will remember it whenever you miss cast a spell... Your name means so much more to you than people at first realise, and I'm sorry I slandered it."

Amber was shocked. That was the exact reason why she hated that nickname. Her Mum had named her in a similar way to her self – after a gemstone – so the nickname Ember, not only reminded Amber of what happens when her magic goes haywire, but also that besmirches her heritage.

Finally. Melanie took one last peek at her Notebook before she closed it and turned to Casey.

"Casey… Honestly I'm… I'm not even sure how well this apology is going to go… Out of everyone here I have hurt you the most. I'm kinda scared to be honest…"

Casey looked at Melanie with a passive look. Amber had seen the likes of Bones and his friends try and apologise to Casey, and to this day Casey still hadn't forgiven them.

"…For starters, sorry for knocking you into the Fire Berry Vines. The scream you let out once you were knocked in made my skin crawl… I can't imagine the pain you felt... But um… that was just physical pain, I know my words have hurt you far worse." Casey face curled slightly and her whole body stiffened, but she still kept her eye contact with Melanie. "I've called you every name there is. I tried to make a list of them so I could break down this apology, but if I did that, it would just sound pretentious…. In the end I realised there was only one thing I could say that would even come close to maybe making you feel better."

Amber watched Melanie take a breath and steady herself. The notebook in her right hand was being clutched tightly.

"I should never _ever_ make someone feel worthless… and that is exactly what I have made you feel. I know… I know what it's like for people to look at you, and treat you with distain just because of who your parents are. Making someone else feel worthless doesn't make me worth more. I know that now…" Melanie's eyes were fogging over by this point, and Amber noticed a single tear roll down her check. "You should feel proud of your Muggle born heritage, and you should be proud of yourself for coming out and showing everyone who you are. You are… No… all three of you are the kindest, the honest, and the most loyal people I have ever meet. You girls truly are Hufflepuffs… So for whatever its worth, I'm sorry."

"That..." Casey began shakily. "Was actually sweet."

"Ye...Yeah." Amber uttered. "I honestly didn't think a Slytherin had it in them."

"We're not all bad." Melanie shyly blushed. "We just have a lot mixed up in our history."

"Yeah… you do… we all do." Amber whispered.

"I… I should go." Melanie said at once. "Me being here is bringing the mood down."

Melanie was turning around and had on the compartment door when Amber moved. After an apology like that, how could someone not forgive them?

"Stay." Amber said sincerely, grabbing Melanie's arm preventing her from leaving.

"I," Melanie started before she saw the sincerity in Amber's eyes. "Thanks."

"After that apology and what we went through how could we not forgive you?" Amber responded. She gave her a small hug and motioned for her to sit down.

"Does this mean were friends now or something?" Melanie asked.

"I guess so?" Casey chipped in.

"Never thought I'd end up being friends with a Slytherin." Lizza said.

"Didn't you say once you were nearly put in Slytherin?" Casey bemusedly smirked.

"Yeah the sorting hat was tossing up between Slytherin and Hufflepuff. It really wanted to put me in Slytherin, but ended up sticking me in Hufflepuff deciding that, 'You'll never enjoy Hogwarts if I keep thinking about home, friends can help you there'.''

"Awww, guess you were stuck with us from the start." Amber giggled. "What about you CJ? Did the sorting hat think about putting you in another house?"

"It briefly considered Gryffindor for about 3 seconds before it said I was too much of a Hufflepuff and placed me in there."

"I could see you as a Gryffindor." Melanie chipped in. "Coming out like you did was really brave."

Casey blushed terribly at the complement before, but like any kid when embarrassed, deflected the attention off them immediately. "So Amber, what about you?"

"Me!?" Amber yipped. "Well the Sorting Hat couldn't decide between Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw, it kept tossing up between all three. Eventually it gave up and stuck me in Hufflepuff, saying something along the lines of: 'If they all want you, none of them can have you'."

The other 3 girl's laughed at this admission. Once they settled done a bit Amber, Casey, and Lizza all looked intently at Melanie. "Why are you guys staring at me?"

"Well. Did the sorting hat think of putting you in another house?" Amber asked.

"Promise you want laugh?" Melanie blushed, the girls nodded. "It actually seriously considered Hufflepuff for a bit."

"Awww." Amber cooed. "Why did it put you in Slytherin?"

"I kind of asked it too." Melanie said downcast. "I was afraid of what my gran might say if she found out I wasn't put in Slytherin."

"That's horrible." Amber gasped.

"I kind of wish I had got put into Hufflepuff now."

"Hey remember what you told me," Casey said earnestly. "Be proud of who are. So, you're a Slytherin. Who cares! It's only a problem if you let it be."

"Thanks Casey." Melanie whispered.

"I wonder what it would have been like if we had of been in different houses." Amber mused.

"We probably wouldn't have had as a crazy year as we had." Casey smirked.

"Do you think anyone else's first year was as crazy as ours?" Amber asked.

"As if." Lizza snorted, which triggered yet another fit of giggles.

Little did they know...

 **End Year 1**

* * *

 _Chapter 22 marks the final chapter of "The Hufflepuffs: Changing Worlds"_

 _This story came out of nowhere for me (I started writing it as a joke), and I had no idea it would become as big as it did. I think it was around 60,000 words deep when I realised how much I was putting into it._

 _I hope you have all enjoyed following our 3 young Hufflepuffs on their journey through their first year at Hogwarts, (as well as Watarrka in Lizza's case), and have enjoyed the ending._

 _I know this story varies from most types of fan fictions, as it predominantly uses Original Characters and tries to steer well clear from J. main cast of characters. So I thank everyone who has stuck with the story so far, I know this type of fanfiction isn't everyone cup of tea._

 _I started writing this story back in June '17 and in actuality finished it by the end of August. I refrained myself from posting it online until it was totally completed (or at the very least a completed first draft), as one of my pet peeves (pun intended), is reading stories that never get finished or dropped._  
 _I didn't want to do this to 'The Hufflepuffs', I wanted people to have a satisfying ending at the very least, which is why I waited._

 _Where the story goes from here I don't know yet. I have ideas floating around my head of where I want the story to go, but it'll be some time before my fingers touch a keyboard and begin writing the next part of the journey; longer still before I post online._

 _Comments, reviews and criticisms are welcome and I encourage all manner of feed back. Especially in regards to spelling and grammar, (I've already been informed that my spelling of Madam Pomfrey is wrong and will need to go back and correct the numerous times I have spelt it 'Pomfry'). The arduous task of going back and correcting all of the mistakes I have made has already begun, so do not be surprised if small changes are made to chapters, for the most past though the story is complete and the story line is solidified._

 _Thank you all for reading, and taking another trip back to the magical school we all know and love._

 _K.W._


End file.
